In the Zoom era, disabled Californians need permanent options for remote participation

Being able to participate in public meetings is as crucial to our democracy as voting or protesting. Many of us have long been told that enabling our participation was not possible, but the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that it is.

During the pandemic, many cities and municipalities around California have moved their meetings online and allowed comment by Zoom, Facebook Live or calling in by phone. Many seniors and people with disabilities have found public participation much easier as a result.

Now, as policymakers begin to envision the pandemic’s end, we’re concerned that some of the ways we’ve made more public participation possible will be tossed aside in a rush to return to “normal.” But let’s be clear, “normal” never worked for our communities.

Seniors and people with disabilities — those with mobility disabilities, deaf and hard of hearing people, blind and visually-impaired people, folks with chronic illnesses and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities — have valuable insights and comments to share with decision-makers. But we face countless barriers and accessibility problems. We can do so much more for public participation by permanently removing these barriers.

In “normal” times, in order to make our voices heard, some Senior and Disability Action members would have to make our way to the San Francisco City Hall by boarding a BART train and crossing our fingers that the elevators at Civic Center Station were working. Others would come in from all parts of the city, taking public transit if we could get to a bus stop or did not mind the long wait for Paratransit. Our ability to participate depended on whether we felt well enough to attend a meeting that could go on for hours before getting to the agenda item that would deeply impact our lives.

As the executive director and an activist member of Senior and Disability Action, we can tell you the pandemic created unique difficulties for our organization’s members. Seniors and people with disabilities in nursing facilities got sick in great numbers and struggled with isolation and lack of care.

Disabled people and seniors had to fight to prevent care rationing and to get needed vaccines. Many of us, especially people of color, faced eviction. The Board of Supervisors and Health Commission held meetings to make critical decisions on these issues. Our communities had no choice but to speak up — our lives literally depended on it.

Over the last year, we participated in dozens of public meetings about issues that were crucial to our health and safety. The reason so many voices could be included in those meetings is that people were able to participate safely from wherever they were — wherever they had access to the internet or a phone.

AB 339, authored by Assemblyman Alex Lee, D-San Jose, would ensure that local government meetings — from school boards to county boards of supervisors — have both a call-in and internet-based option for public participation.

This bill can help ensure our members are still able to engage with their elected officials and help our families and friends engage as well. Now that we can connect over Zoom, Jamel’s family, which is spread out over the Bay, has a better understanding of his needs as a quadriplegic. They are more motivated to vote, sign petitions and speak out at meetings, which they can better do remotely.

The pandemic has challenged us in many ways, but it has also presented unexpected opportunities. The actions of forward-thinking cities and municipalities made it possible for so many to participate in public meetings. We cannot lose the progress we’ve made — our democracy, and our lives, depend on it. More than 30 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we should not still be fighting every day for basic access. It’s time to make remote participation options permanent with AB 339.