WSMV Channel 4 Could voter ID law disenfranchise disabled residents?

Could voter ID law disenfranchise disabled residents?

Some people with disabilities say the new voter identification law that takes effect Jan. 1 is unfair and will keep many of them from voting.

Read more stories on TN's new voter ID law

They say simply getting the ID is a challenge.

One of the closest bus stops to the east Nashville driver testing center, where someone can get a picture ID, is about one mile from the facility. That can be a far distance for someone on foot and a real challenge for someone in a wheelchair.

Dylan Brown needs a wheelchair to get around and says it is dangerous for him to get from the bus stop to the driver testing center.

There are telephone poles and fire hydrants in the middle of the sidewalk, making it impossible for a person in a wheelchair to navigate the area. The sidewalk also gets extremely narrow with the road in areas.

It's also more than one mile from the nearest bus stop to the Centennial Boulevard driver testing center.

Brown says an extra trip like that to get a photo ID means danger, physical labor, and significant time for a person who has a disability.

"We need to make sure that our most vulnerable people in society aren't being adversely affected by it greater than the rest of the population," said Brown.

Some people with physical disabilities have the option of permanently voting absentee from home.

But Brown says most voters he talked want to be part of the public process in person.

With the new requirements, Brown says early indications through phone surveys conducted by the Tennessee Disability Coalition show about 30 percent of voters with disabilities will simply stop participating, especially in areas like the east Nashville location.

"People who otherwise would vote are not going to vote because it's another obstacle for them to do the process," said Brown.

Once a person with a disability almost makes it to the center, they still have to leave the sidewalk and walk along six lanes of traffic to get inside.

It's a process packed with obstacles that people like Brown say is enough to stop people with disabilities from coming to the polls to vote.

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