SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS

Obligations of Harris County

A. Accessible Voting Program

15. Harris County shall not exclude qualified individuals with disabilities from participation in or deny them the benefits of its voting program, or subject them to discrimination, on the basis of disability.  42 U.S.C. § 12132; 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.130(a) and 35.149.  Harris County shall administer its voting program in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of persons with disabilities.  28 C.F.R. § 35.130(d).  Harris County will take all reasonable and necessary steps to effectuate its obligation to comply with the ADA with respect to its voting program and this Agreement. 

16. Harris County shall provide accessible polling places in order to have an accessible voting program, including a program that is accessible to persons with mobility or vision disabilities.  42 U.S.C. § 12132; 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.130, 35.149.  Harris County shall select facilities to be used as polling places that do not exclude qualified individuals with disabilities from or deny them the benefits of the polling place, or otherwise subject them to discrimination. 42 U.S.C. § 12132; 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(4).

17. For all elections occurring after the Effective Date of this Agreement, Harris County will implement measures to remediate the violations previously identified by the United States in its letter of September 29, 2014, and in its five expert reports sent on August 9, 2018, as set forth in Attachment A, to make those polling place locations Accessible on Election Day, or will relocate those locations not remediated to an alternative accessible location pursuant to the process established in Paragraphs 25 and 27 of this Agreement.  Harris County will provide its remediation plan to the United States and the Experts within one hundred eighty (180) days of the Effective Date of this Agreement.  If Harris County asserts, and the United States agrees, that remediation and relocation to an accessible polling place location are infeasible, then Harris County shall comply with Title II’s program accessibility requirements as described in Paragraph 21 of this Agreement.  28 C.F.R. § 35.150.

18. Nothing in this Agreement limits Harris County from making ADA-compliant, permanent modifications to County-owned polling place locations instead of providing temporary remedial measures or relocating a polling place location to a location that can be made Accessible on Election Day.

19. For Harris County-owned facilities, Harris County shall maintain in operable working condition on Election Day those features of facilities and equipment (including permanent equipment such as lifts and elevators and temporary equipment such as portable ramps, traffic cones, signs, wedges, and door stops) that are required to make polling places Accessible on Election Day.  28 C.F.R. § 35.133(a).  If circumstances arise such that a County-owned polling place location that was previously accessible is no longer accessible because a feature of the polling place location or equipment is no longer operable, then Harris County shall either purchase new equipment or relocate the polling place to an alternative, accessible location pursuant to the process established in Paragraphs 25 and 27 of this Agreement.  If Harris County asserts, and the United States agrees, that remediation and relocation to an accessible polling place location are infeasible, then Harris County shall comply with Title II’s program accessibility requirements as described in Paragraph 21 of this Agreement.

20. For all facilities not owned by Harris County, Harris County shall maintain in operable working condition on Election Day those features of facilities and equipment owned by Harris County (including temporary equipment such as portable ramps, traffic cones, signs, wedges, and door stops) that are required to make polling places Accessible on Election Day.  28 C.F.R. § 35.133(a).  If circumstances arise such that a non-Harris County owned polling place location that was previously accessible is no longer accessible because a feature of the polling place location or equipment owned by Harris County is no longer operable, then Harris County shall either purchase new temporary equipment or relocate the polling place to an alternative, accessible location pursuant to the process established in Paragraphs 25 and 27 of this Agreement.  If Harris County asserts, and the United States agrees, that remediation and relocation to an accessible polling place location are infeasible, then Harris County shall comply with Title II’s program accessibility requirements as described in Paragraph 21 of this Agreement.

21. If Harris County asserts, and the United States agrees, that remediation and relocation to an accessible polling place location are infeasible, then Harris County shall comply with Title II’s program accessibility requirements, see 28 C.F.R. Part 35, Subpart D, and provide absentee voting and effective curbside voting.  Effective curbside voting includes: (1) signage outside of the location informing voters of the availability of curbside voting, the location of the curbside voting, and how voters can notify the official that they are waiting curbside; (2) a curbside voting location that allows the curbside voter to obtain information from candidates and others campaigning outside the polling place; (3) a method for the voter with a disability to announce her arrival at the curbside voting location without requiring the voter to bring a companion or get assistance from another voter (a temporary doorbell or buzzer system at the curbside voting location would be sufficient, but not a telephone system requiring the use of a cell phone or a call-ahead notification); (4) a prompt response from election officials to acknowledge their awareness of the voter; (5) timely delivery of the same information that is provided to voters inside the polling place; and (6) a portable voting system that is accessible and allows the voter to cast her ballot privately and independently.

22. Harris County agrees that the following measures will be implemented where necessary to make an otherwise inaccessible polling place Accessible on Election Day.  The list of measures is not exhaustive; Harris County may propose other reasonable, temporary measures subject to the review and approval of the United States. 

    1. Portable ramps (including curb ramps) up to and including ramps six feet long, with side edge protection.

    2. Portable wedges or wedge ramps.

    3. Floor mats.

    4. Traffic cones.

    5. Relocating furniture or other moveable barriers.

    6. Door stops.

    7. Propping open doors.

    8. Unlocking doors.

    9. Signage, including parking and accessible entrance directional signage.

    10. Portable buzzers or door bells.

    11. Removing astragals (center door posts) that are not a permanent part of the structure from doorways.

B. Survey and Review of Polling Place Locations

23. Harris County shall revise its policies, practices, and procedures to select facilities to be used as polling places that do not exclude qualified individuals with disabilities from or deny them the benefits of the polling place, or otherwise subject them to discrimination on the basis of their disabilities.  Within one hundred twenty (120) days of the Effective Date of this Agreement, Harris County shall submit its revised policies, practices, and procedures to the United States for review and approval.  Within ten (10) days of receiving comments from the United States, Harris County shall incorporate in its policies, practices, and procedures any additions or modifications proposed by the United States that bring the County’s policies, practices, and procedures into compliance with the ADA.

24. Harris County will modify its polling place accessibility survey instrument to conform with the 2010 Standards. The survey instrument will include:  (1) measurements of each feature in the survey form (e.g., width of parking space, slope of curb ramp); (2) photographs of each element of the polling place and of each measurement; (3) the identification of all appropriate remedial measures, including the remedial measures in Paragraph 22 of this Agreement; and (4) measurements (including slope measurements) and photographs of each remedial measure as it will be implemented on Election Day.  The survey instrument will be submitted to the United States for review and approval within sixty (60) days of the Effective Date of this Agreement.  Within ten (10) days of receiving comments from the United States, Harris County shall incorporate in its survey instrument any reasonable changes, additions, or modifications proposed by the United States.

25. For all polling place locations that were not surveyed fully by the United States in the January 2013 Special Election, the May 2016 Special Election, the November 2016 General Election, or the May 2018 Primary Run-Off Election, Harris County will conduct a survey using the survey instrument referenced in Paragraph 24 of this Agreement.  Harris County will provide all surveys to the Experts, and any survey to the United States upon request, with all surveys to be completed no later than one year after the Effective Date of this Agreement.  The Experts will provide the surveys and the Experts’ recommendations regarding whether the surveys are accurate to the United States on a monthly basis.  If the Experts or the United States disputes the accuracy of a survey, then Harris County will re-survey the portions of the polling place in question.  If the United States concludes that Harris County has proposed a remedial provision that does not fully address a barrier to accessibility, then Harris County will propose and implement, subject to the review and approval of the United States, a remedial measure consistent with Paragraph 22 of this Agreement or relocating a polling place to a location that can be made Accessible on Election Day.

26. Harris County shall select polling place locations that are Accessible on Election Day to persons with disabilities.  It shall be Harris County’s policy and practice to review each newly proposed polling place location to determine whether it is Accessible on Election Day prior to its use in an election.  Harris County shall use the survey instrument referenced in Paragraph 24 of this Agreement to make all future polling place location selections.  If Harris County ultimately determines that a newly proposed location is inaccessible (as defined by the survey instrument) and cannot be made Accessible on Election Day, then Harris County will reject the location and continue searching until a location that will be Accessible on Election Day can be found subject to Paragraph 21. 

27. When Harris County identifies a new prospective polling place location, Harris County will provide the Experts and the United States notice within twenty-one (21) days of the selection of the proposed new location, along with copies of all surveys (including photographs) of the polling place.  The new polling place location shall be selected pursuant to the process established by Paragraphs 25 and 27 of this Agreement.  The United States’ approval must be obtained before Harris County uses the location in an election. 

28. If Harris County finds that it cannot implement a previously-approved remedial provision for a specific polling place location, Harris County will immediately notify and confer with the United States.  If the issue cannot be resolved to the United States’ satisfaction, Harris County will relocate the polling place location to an alternative location that is Accessible on Election Day pursuant to the process established by Paragraphs 25 and 27 of this Agreement.  

29. If, within two weeks before an election Harris County finds that emergency circumstances have precluded the use of an accessible polling place location, then Harris County will select a polling place pursuant to the process established by Paragraphs 25 and 27 of this Agreement to the extent it is feasible.  Harris County shall promptly provide notice to the Experts and the United States.  If Harris County asserts, and the United States agrees, that relocation to an accessible polling place location is infeasible, then the County shall comply with Title II’s program accessibility requirements as described in Paragraph 21 of this Agreement.

30. If a political subdivision other than Harris County rejects an available county-designated polling place and instead provides its preferred polling place at its own expense pursuant to Texas Election Code § 43.034(c) and the political subdivision’s preferred polling place is not accessible and cannot be made accessible on Election Day through the use of temporary measures, then Harris County shall comply with Title II’s program accessibility requirements as described in Paragraph 21 of this Agreement.  28 C.F.R. § 35.150.  When such a political subdivision notifies the County that it is providing its preferred polling place at its own expense, the County shall notify the United States within five (5) days and confer with the United States regarding remediation.

31. If a political party obtains consent from the Texas Secretary of State to reject an available county-designated polling place pursuant to Texas Election Code § 43.034(c) and the political party’s preferred polling place is not accessible and cannot be made accessible on Election Day through the use of temporary measures, then Harris County shall comply with Title II’s program accessibility requirements as described in Paragraph 21 of this Agreement.  28 C.F.R. § 35.150.  When a political party notifies the County that it has obtained the Secretary of State’s consent to reject a county-designated polling place location, the County shall notify the United States within five (5) days and confer with the United States regarding remediation.

C. Election Judge and Poll Worker Training

33. Prior to each election during the term of this Agreement, as part of its training program for election judges and poll workers, Harris County will provide training on Title II of the ADA and the requirements of this Agreement as applied to Harris County’s voting program, including:

    1. Voting room or area requirements under the 2010 ADA Standards;

    2. Temporary remedial measures, including:  (a) why such measures are necessary; (b) how the measures must be implemented (e.g., how to install ramps, the placement of mats over (and not in front of) thresholds); and (c) a description of the role of Harris County’s Election Day Surveyors (EDSs), as set forth in Paragraph 37 of this Agreement, and the need to follow the instructions of the EDSs regarding the implementation of temporary measures on Election Day;

    3. Interacting with individuals with disabilities and making reasonable modifications necessary to ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in Harris County’s voting program; and

    4. Harris County’s revised policies, practices, and procedures, including the policies, practices, and procedures revised pursuant to Paragraphs 21 and 23 and Section F.

34. After the first election occurring after the Effective Date of this Agreement, and at each training session for each election thereafter, Harris County will identify each election judge in attendance whose polling place was identified as non-compliant by an EDS compliance review from the previous election (pursuant to Paragraph 37 of this Agreement).  Harris County will explain to each election judge the nature of the noncompliance and explain what the election judge must do to remedy the identified issue(s) on Election Day.

35. Prior to each election during the term of this Agreement, Harris County will provide training to all EDSs designated pursuant to Paragraph 37 of this Agreement.  The training of the EDSs will address: (a) temporary measures, including why they are needed and how the measures must be implemented (e.g., how to install ramps, the placement of mats over (and not in front of) thresholds); (b) how to resolve errors in the implementation of temporary measures on Election Day; (c) how to document the implementation of temporary measures on Election Day using checklists or compliance review forms referenced in Paragraph 36 of this Agreement; and (d) what the EDSs are required to do to implement the requirements of this Agreement.

D. Election Day Compliance Review

36. Harris County will develop a checklist of the temporary measures to be implemented on Election Day at each polling place location where such measures are required.  The checklist shall be included in the materials provided to each election judge for Election Day and provided to each Harris County employee or vendor involved in installing or implementing temporary measures for Election Day.  The checklist shall include clear instructions and diagrams for the remedial measures to be implemented by the election judge.  Copies of these checklists, instructions, and diagrams will be provided to the Experts and to the United States no later than sixty (60)days before each election.

37. Harris County will designate County personnel (or contractors) as EDSs to review compliance at the polling place locations where temporary measures are to be implemented on Election Day.  Harris County will provide at least ten teams of two members each in each countywide election.  For each election that is not countywide, Harris County will field a number of teams that is similarly proportionate to the size of the election.  The EDSs shall review compliance with as many polling place locations in each election as is reasonable, with a minimum of twenty (20) polling places reviewed in each election for each team.  All Early Voting locations shall be reviewed by the EDSs at least once during each election.  Any polling place location found by the EDSs to be non-compliant in an election shall be reviewed by EDSs in the subsequent election.  The EDSs shall review polling places where temporary measures are to be implemented on a rotating basis so that they are not reviewing the same polling place locations in a subsequent election, except for those found to be non-compliant.

38. Harris County and the EDSs will use the checklist developed pursuant to Paragraph 36 of this Agreement to review compliance on Election Day.  The EDSs shall document their compliance reviews (both compliant and non-compliant polling place locations) with detailed photographs.  After documenting a non-compliant polling place location, the EDSs shall remedy any non-compliant implementation of a temporary remedy when possible.  Copies of these compliance reviews will be provided to the Experts and the United States within ninety (90) days after each election.

39. If Harris County does not properly implement the temporary remedial measures necessary at a particular polling place location on Election Day in two (2) consecutive elections, and, if the polling place location is a county-owned polling place location and Harris County does not make permanent architectural remediation, then Harris County will no longer use the polling place location and will relocate it to a location that is Accessible on Election Day.  If Harris County asserts, and the United States agrees, that remediation and relocation to an accessible polling place location are infeasible, then Harris County shall comply with Title II’s program accessibility requirements, as described in Paragraph 21 of this Agreement.

E. Staff Training

40. Within one hundred twenty (120) days of the Effective Date of this Agreement, Harris County will provide training from the Subject Matter Experts and/or an outside source to all employees in the Elections Division and any relevant contractors or vendors, including those who conduct surveys or implement temporary measures,on Title II of the ADA and the requirements of this Agreement as applied to Harris County’s voting program, including:

    1. Polling place accessibility requirements under the 2010 ADA Standards;

    2. Temporary remedial measures, including:  (a) why such measures are necessary; (b) how the measures must be implemented (e.g., how to install ramps, the placement of mats over (and not in front of) thresholds); and (c) a description of the role of Harris County’s Election Day Surveyors (EDSs), as set forth in Paragraph 37 of this Agreement, and the need to follow the instructions of the EDSs regarding the implementation of temporary measures on Election Day;

    3. Interacting with individuals with disabilities and making reasonable modifications necessary to ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in Harris County’s voting program; and

    4. Harris County’s revised policies, practices, and procedures, including the policies, practices, and procedures revised pursuant to Paragraphs 21 and 23 and Section F.

41. Harris County may tape the initial training to use for employees hired after the initial training.  Harris County will provide this training on an annual basis for the duration of this Agreement.  Harris County must obtain the United States’ approval of the trainer and the materials to be used in the training.

F. Complaint Collection and Review Process

42. Harris County will submit for approval by the United States, and then adopt, procedures providing for the receipt of and prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging that the County’s voting program discriminates against persons with disabilities.  28 C.F.R. § 35.107(b).  The complaint procedures shall include procedures for election judges and poll workers to gather and document appropriate information from a complainant on site at a polling place during an election, and for Harris County to accept and document phone calls and emails received prior to, during, or after an election.  Harris County will publish the complaint procedures on the Harris County Clerk’s website and provide notices at each polling place during each election.  These procedures will be in place for all elections after the Effective Date of this Agreement.

43. Within ninety (90) days of the Effective Date of this Agreement and for the term of this Agreement, Harris County will designate an employee to serve as an ADA Coordinator for the Elections Division.  The ADA Coordinator will be trained in and knowledgeable about the ADA and the terms of this Agreement, and will investigate any complaint that the County, election judges, or any other person under the authority or control of Harris County receives alleging that the County’s voting program discriminates against persons with disabilities.  The ADA Coordinator will also implement the complaint procedures described in Paragraph 42.  28 C.F.R. § 35.107(a).

44. Harris County will publish a Notice to Voters with Disabilities on its website and at all polling places for all elections within one hundred twenty (120) days of the Effective Date of this Agreement, and for the term of this Agreement, that notifies voters of the name of, and contact information for, the Election Division’s ADA Coordinator. 

45. Harris County will promptly provide to the United States a copy of the written complaint procedures described in Paragraph 42.  Every ninety (90) days, Harris County will provide a written report to the United States including summaries of any written complaints, complaints received as voice messages or other audio files, or written descriptions of verbal complaints, that the County, the election judges, or any other person under the authority or control of Harris County receives alleging that the County’s voting program discriminates against persons with disabilities; and any written responses provided by the County and a written description of actions taken in response to such complaints.  Harris County will provide the United States with copies of any written complaints, complaints received as voice messages or other audio files, or written descriptions of verbal complaints, upon request.