I went to vote early on a recent Saturday. Many seniors and disabled people choose to vote early to avoid crowds and inconvenience.
Coming up the stairs from the Metro, the escalator was not working and you had to climb to exit the station. I did not see an elevator, which must have been located at the other exit, which is not close to the polling booths.
Also, at the Judiciary Square early voting site, I discovered there are no bathroom facilities on the weekend. The woman at the main election office verified the lack of a place on the weekend when the building is closed. She offered to let me in that once, but it wasn’t an emergency so I thanked her and went on my way.
Many seniors and disabled people have to take medicine and may need water and/or food to take it. There is a coffee shop next door to the Judiciary Square voting area, but it – like the bathroom — is closed on the weekend. However, there is a food vendor who often sets up outside the voting station, so taking medicine should not be a problem.
November 4 is the last day for early voting throughout the city. Hopefully SafeTrack and other situations will not be much of a problem. When I went, customers were warned there could be train delays. There was no service around Brookland and Fort Totten.
The Election office at Judiciary had a free brochure with a lot of information in it about local voting resources.
Remember, if you are a felon, you can still vote in D.C. – your rights are automatically restored upon release from prison.
Don’t be discouraged if you live in a D.C. shelter either – you can vote here and there should even be people there to help with doing the ballots if it is necessary.
One of my customers has been naturalized and she saw my sign encouraging people to vote. She said she votes all the time! In case language is a hindrance, ballots in foreign languages may be available.
The Board of Elections should be able to answer any other questions about voting access: (202) 727-2525
