What does the phrase "make every vote count" mean?

In the fall of 2000, it meant a host of things to different people. To some, it meant using reliable voting equipment, not cards with dimpled or hanging chads. To others, it meant designing ballots so that no one would misunderstand and mistakenly vote for the wrong person. To still others, it meant that officials and the media should refrain from announcing results before all of the polling places in a state had closed.

Each of these is a worthy consideration. Combined, they have led to widespread reforms nationwide and to a law requiring all states to go electronic by 2006.

And yet one concern seems to be overlooked. It is that people with physical disabilities should be able to participate in elections as well.

Utah has had few problems with the mechanics of its voting equipment through the years. Quite frankly, however, it has had plenty of problems with access for the disabled. The Disability Law Center, an agency designated by the governor's office to advocate on behalf of the rights of the disabled, did a quick survey statewide around the time of the June primary. Of 98 polling places visited in 15 counties, officials with the group found only 11 that were properly accessible.

The problem isn't a lack of understanding. Most county election clerks want to help. They lack the resources.

Any visitor to the United States would be touched by the grass-roots feel of an election day. In this country, government truly is "by the people," and that is reflected in the way Americans vote. A lot of folks go to their local elementary school. Some go to a nearby church. In rural areas, it's not uncommon to cast a ballot in a private home whose proud owner has moved the furniture aside for a day.

Unfortunately, this lends itself to problems. Without a parking lot suitable for handicapped-accessible vans, or without pavement that saves someone from having to push a wheelchair across gravel, voting can be nearly impossible for many people. If the local school has a door that is heavy and difficult to keep open, that can be a barrier, as well.

And that doesn't even begin to get at the issue of actually voting. A new host of barriers pops up once some wheelchair-bound citizens come inside. For some, there is little choice other than to tell someone how a ballot should be cast.

Utah will adopt a new electronic voting system in 2006. It has no choice. We've urged the state to go slowly in choosing which system to use, keeping in mind that reliability is the overriding concern. But while they're at it, state leaders also should keep the handicapped in mind.

Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the franchise doesn't belong to people who have limbs that don't work or other physical problems. No one can rightly say that every vote counts until every qualified citizen who wants to cast a ballot is allowed to do so with dignity and privacy.