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Rhonda Staats is one of about 100,000 voters in Wisconsin who are visually impaired or blind. When it came time to vote in November, Staats had two choices: potentially expose herself to COVID by casting a ballot in person or risk having her vote changed without her knowledge. She is photographed outside her La Crosse, Wis., home on Jan. 8, 2021. Diane Knothe for Wisconsin Watch
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, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access.
, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access.
Rhonda Staats had two choices during the November election: cast a ballot in person and potentially expose herself to COVID-19, or vote absentee and risk having her vote changed without her knowledge.
Staats is one of about 100,000 voters in the state who are blind or visually impaired. These voters must travel to their polling place to use an accessible voting machine hoping one is available, operating and staff know how to use it or have someone fill in their ballot for them.
“There is no way that a blind person may vote independently using vote by mail,” Staats said, adding that any form of voting in Wisconsin as a blind person “is a constant struggle.”