The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against and provides protections to individuals with disabilities. In 2002, the ADA was amended to include the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). HAVA ensures that individuals with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote by providing equal access to the voting process.

You have the right to:

• Access websites for information, register to vote, or request an absentee ballot.
• Vote at any polling site
• Ask an election official for assistance with accessing information about accessible voting or with casting your vote.
• Use an accessible voting machine at any polling site.
• Choose to vote independently or with the help of a friend, family member, caregiver, guardian, or poll worker.

You may request additional information from the County Clerk’s office about voting aids, voting assistance, and absentee ballot procedures available to you.

All polling locations are equipped with accessible voting equipment that is equipped for special accommodations for hearing, visual, physical, and other disabilities. Accessible voting equipment provides the opportunity to independently vote a ballot in complete privacy. This terminal marks the voter’s selections on paper that becomes their ballot. Voters can select their choices using a touch screen, headphones, and other types of equipment available to assist voters in making their selections. The completed ballot is then fed into a tabulator, which scans and records the votes.

In New Mexico, blind and visually impaired voters may also request an electronically fillable ballot to vote from the privacy of their own homes via an absentee ballot.

For questions regarding resources available to serve voters with disabilities, please contact the County Clerk’s or email the Secretary of State’s Office at sos.elections@state.nm.us.