Wisconsin Study Details Polling Place Accessibility Problems
[Image courtesy of AAPD]
A new study by the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) found thousands of accessibility violations over three years. From the GAB’s press release:
Wisconsin’s polling places are becoming more accessible, but some people with disabilities and the elderly still face significant obstacles when they vote, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Board.
Over the last three years and 16 elections, the G.A.B. conducted unannounced inspections at 1,614 polling places in 921 municipalities in 66 of the state’s 72 counties. Inspectors found more than 10,000 violations of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which require polling places to be accessible to people who use wheelchairs and have other physical challenges. On average, inspected polling places had 6.5 violations.
More than one third of those violations (3,786) were serious enough to prevent a voter with a disability from entering a polling place and casting a private and independent ballot, said Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel of the G.A.B.
“This new report details the kinds of accessibility problems that still exist at polling places in Wisconsin,” Kennedy said. “While we have made great improvements over the last decade, we still have quite a ways to go to ensure everyone with a disability is able to vote privately and independently.”
Elections Division Administrator Michael Haas noted that many of the problems found by inspectors require relatively minor corrections, such as signs printed too small for someone with a visual impairment to read. “These kinds of problems can be fixed at little or no cost by municipal clerks,” Haas said. “In more serious cases, local governing bodies will need to consider funding repairs or renovations to ensure access to the polls, or securing alternative polling locations.”
Wisconsin’s 1,852 municipal clerks are responsible for making sure polling places are accessible, which Haas said is not always easy when they must often rely on buildings the municipality does not own. However, the G.A.B. will provide technical assistance to clerks who need help, and the agency has federal funds available to assist municipal clerks with the purchase of supplies to make polling places accessible, Haas said. [The report says that to date GAB “has sent out 2,442 polling place accessibility supplies to 442 municipalities”.]
Kennedy said the G.A.B. staff has worked closely with the disability community in developing its accessibility survey tools and reviewing the results contained in the report. The results of the accessibility inspections are summarized in a report the Board is required to submit to the legislature every two years. In addition to Wisconsin’s Election Day accessibility inspection program, which is unique in the nation, the report also describes other steps that state and local election officials have taken to improve polling place accessibility, including improved training of clerks and election inspectors.
The report also highlights the continuing need for election officials and community members to work together to address these challenges:
It is the responsibility of state and municipal election officials to make the voting process accessible and welcoming to people with disabilities. An opportunity exists for a partnership between the disability community and municipalities to address these issues with creative solutions such as recruiting people with disabilities to be poll workers. It is important that municipalities involve people with disabilities in their processes to make voting accessible, as creating that partnership will assist in eliminating more persistent barriers to voting in Wisconsin. (pp. 25-26)
The full report is available here.
Kudos to Wisconsin and the GAB for continuing the effort to document and correct accessibility issues in the polling place!