TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — The U.S. Department of Justice investigated Travis County's compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and found that more than 50 polling places in the county did not meet ADA compliance.
Now, the U.S. and the Travis County Clerk's Office have come to an agreement to ensure all current and future polling places are accessible to voters with disabilities.
The U.S. surveyed more than 50 polling places used in Travis County for the 2020 primary election and concluded all of them contained architectural or equipment barriers for voters with disabilities. The investigation was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Liane Noble and Thomas Parnham with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.
ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by a local or state government in any of its programs or services. Specifically, the investigation concluded that polling places lacked accessible van parking and clearances for chairs, and had protruding objects, excessively sloped ramps and sloped routes. It also found polling places lacked procedures for voters with disabilities to access the curbside voting system in a way that's compliant.
Now, Travis County has to use an evaluation form for each current or potential polling place based on ADA architectural standards. The County either has to relocate voting to new, accessible facilities or use temporary measures like portable ramps, signs, traffic cones and doorbells to make sure voting on Election Day is compliant.
Travis County poll workers will also be trained on ADA compliance and how to use temporary measures to make polling places accessible. A press release from the Department of Justice said the County has been working collaboratively with it to take steps towards accessibility.
Travis County is the fifth largest county in the state, with more 1.3 million citizens, according to the County Clerk's website. You can also see all of the county's polling locations on the website.
You can find out more about the agreement by calling the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or by going to the ADA website.
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