REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSIBILITY
The ADA’s regulations and the ADA Standards for Accessible Design set out what makes a facility accessible and should be used to determine the accessibility of any facility being considered for use as a polling place. This publication, the ADA Checklist for Polling Places (2016 Checklist), provides guidance to election officials for determining whether a polling place already has the basic accessibility features needed by most voters with disabilities or can be made accessible on Election Day using temporary solutions to remove barriers. The updated Checklist includes provisions from the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (“2010 Standards”).3 Any alterations made to a polling place must comply with the 2010 Standards.
A voter with a disability casting his ballot
3 The requirements that new construction and alterations comply with the 2010 Standards went into effect on March 15, 2012. Facilities that were built or altered before that date, and that complied with the 1991 Standards, need not be modified to comply with the 2010 Standards as to those provisions included in the 1991 Standards. See 28 C.F.R. §35.151(b)(2)(i). This is referred to as a safe harbor. The 1991 Standards and the 2010 Standards, as applied to polling places, are very similar, however, with the exception of the requirements for accessible parking. For example, the 1991 Standards required only one van-accessible space for every eight accessible spaces, see 28 C.F.R. pt. 36, Appendix D, §4.1.2(5)(b), while the 2010 Standards require one van-accessible space for every six accessible spaces, see 2010 Standards §208.2.4.
Other Justice Department Publications
In addition to the 2016 Checklist, election officials should consult the Department’s 7-page publication on the rights of voters with disabilities, The Americans with Disabilities Act and Other Federal Laws Protecting the Rights of Voters with Disabilities.
Another Justice Department publication, Solutions for Five Common ADA Access Problems at Polling Places, illustrates suggested temporary solutions for several common accessibility problems found at polling places.
The 2016 Checklist and other Justice Department publications, as well as the title II regulation and the 2010 Standards are available at www.ada.gov.
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