Disability Rights North Carolina sued the state over restrictions on who can help voters with disabilities cast their ballots in elections. Several North Carolina laws limited who can help voters as well as who can request ballots for voters. Those restrictions have been ruled in violation of federal laws.
What does this means for you or someone you know with autism?
Voters with disabilities who need help voting can choose who helps them, including who helps them request an absentee ballot. The only people who cannot help a person vote are employers and unions.
The judge’s ruling applies to all parts of voting including requesting ballots, completing the ballot and returning the ballot to the local board of elections. This means that relatives, friends, neighbors, staff of providers/facilities, an elected official or candidate, or anyone of the personās choosing can help them. Voters in facilities *can* still receive assistance from Multi Partisan Voting Teams, but it is no longer a requirement because staff in facilities can assist voters with disabilities.
Anyone helping a voter must follow voting laws: people witnessing a ballot must be at least 18 and voting information must be kept confidential. For more info on the recent voting law change and voting in general, please see https://www.ncsbe.gov/
The Autism Society of North Carolina will be updating previous materials on voting to reflect this change.
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