Another County Sued by DOJ for Election Polling Place ADA Discrepancies

It happened again! Another County has been sued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for election polling place Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrepancies.

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
AND MCKINLEY COUNTY
REGARDING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF POLLING PLACES
DJ # 204-49-91

During the June 6, 2016 election, the DOJ surveyed 32 of the McKinley County, New Mexico, (“County”) then 47 total election day polling place locations.  The DOJ’s survey identified that many of the County’s precincts and early voting locations are housed in polling places which contain barriers to access for persons with disabilities, and that the County did not comply with Title II by failing to select and use facilities as polling places on Election Day that are accessible to persons with disabilities.  In September 2018, the Department re-surveyed 23 of the County’s polling place locations.  The County has started taking measures at some of its polling places to remediate noncompliance.  

The terms of the settlement and obligations for McKinley County are significant in the time and money needed to comply with the obligations. These terms include providing an accessible voting program, surveying and reviews of election polling place locations, training, and election day polling place compliance reviews.

This continues to happen because county election boards and personnel are unable or unwilling to comply with the ADA Standards. This has to be partly to blame on poor training.

SUMMARY:

The extent of this lawsuit and settlement is significant in time and money. This continues to happen because county election boards and personnel are unable or unwilling to comply with the ADA Standards. This has to be partly to blame on poor training and poor enforcement. Any county in the United States is liable for these same issues. Take action now to make sure your election polling places are accessible, or face the wrath of the United States. The complete settlement is available at McKinley County Election Polling Place ADA Settlement.

Richard Acree at ADA Inspections Nationwide, LLC, offers training for election polling place staff. This course is described on the website at Election Polling Place Training for ADA.

If you think your election polling place is not compliant with the ADA laws and wonder what to do, please see What to do if Your Polling Place is not ADA Compliant.

If you observe a building that is not ADA compliant and you would like to know how to proceed, please see the link at What To Do When A Building Is Not ADA Compliant or Accessible.

ADA Inspections Nationwide, LLC, offers ADA/ABA/FHA accessibility compliance inspections for buildings and facilities, as applicable to the different laws, and expert witness services with respect to ADA/ABA/FHA laws for building owners, tenants and managers. Also, ADAIN offers consulting for home modifications as a CAPS consultant for people wishing to age in place in their homes. For a complete list of services please see ADAIN Services.

Thank you.