Kirsten Dorman

Ben Jackson (right), who attended the conference as an expert on accessible voting on June 16, 2023, passes a microphone to Thomas Hicks, commissioner of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Accessible voting was a focus at the African American Conference on Disabilities in Phoenix this week, and efforts for people with disabilities to get out the vote are underway.

Commissioner Thomas Hicks of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission held a workshop to discuss how the EAC is working to make voting more accessible across different categories of disability, despite its limited budget.

“Those dots just look like ‘computer dots,’” Hicks said. “But they’re not. They spell out ‘vote’ in Braille. And so that shows a little bit of our commitment to the disabled community by incorporating that into our national logo.”

Hicks said that he hopes the new updates will help start conversations and help lay the groundwork for getting more accomplished.