02/19/2026
The SAVE Act has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is now headed to the U.S. Senate. If enacted, it would create new barriers that disproportionately harm voters with disabilities โ including right here in Illinois.
๐๐ป ๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ผ๐ถ๐, ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐
๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ญ.๐ฏ ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐.
Disabled voters already face systemic barriers to participation, including inaccessible polling locations, transportation challenges, and difficulties obtaining needed assistance. National research shows that disabled voters are three times more likely to encounter problems casting a ballot than nondisabled voters.
๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ผ๐ถ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ณ๐๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
Vote-by-mail has long been available to any registered Illinois voter. In 2022, Equip for Equality, in collaboration with our partners, drafted and successfully advocated for passage of legislation in Illinois to provide a remote, accessible vote-by-mail system for voters with print disabilities โ including blindness, low vision, physical dexterity limitations, and certain cognitive or learning disabilities. This system allows voters to receive, mark, and verify their ballots electronically using their own assistive technology.
The SAVE Act would move us in the opposite direction.
The bill would:
โข Limit access to vote-by-mail for people with disabilities and others
โข Restrict who may assist a voter with a disability โ and potentially criminalize assistance
โข Require hard-to-obtain documents, such as passports or birth certificates, to register or update voter registration
๐ฆ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฝ๐๐: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐.
Accessible voting is not a convenience. It is a civil right protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and reinforced by the Help America Vote Act.
Illinois has worked to expand access. The Senate must not reverse that progress.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐ข ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐!
