Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a landmark agreement with the County of Los Angeles to resolve its lawsuit alleging that the county violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying voters with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in its voting programs, services and activities when it failed to select and use facilities as polling places that are accessible to persons with disabilities.
“People with disabilities are entitled to full inclusion at the ballot box,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to safeguarding the right of every eligible voter, including voters with disabilities, to participate in our electoral process. This agreement should send a message to officials across the country regarding the need to ensure the accessibility of the voting process now.”
“The right to vote is essential to our democracy and must be protected for all voters,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “Voters with disabilities are entitled to an equal opportunity to vote in person, privately and independently, alongside their neighbors and friends. We commend Los Angeles County for its commitment to work with the Justice Department to ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities.”
The lawsuit was filed in June 2023 following a lengthy investigation that found the county excluded individuals with disabilities from participating in the county’s in-person voting program. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California had surveyed hundreds of polling places in the June 2016, March 2020, November 2020 and November 2022 elections and found the vast majority had architectural barriers, such as steep ramps, abrupt level changes at walkways and entrance doors, and lack of accessible parking. These impediments prevented people with mobility and vision disabilities from being able to safely access vote centers and cast their ballots in person. The lawsuit also alleged that the county’s curbside voting program was inaccessible, as certain vote centers lacked signage indicating that curbside voting was available or failed to provide sufficient means by which a voter could contact an election worker for assistance with curbside voting.
The settlement, which was filed with the court earlier today, will increase accessibility for voters with disabilities. Under the agreement, Los Angeles County will work with an independent accessibility expert for three years on site selection policies and procedures to ensure that the county selects voting center locations that are accessible or can be made more accessible during the voting period by employing temporary remedial measures. The county has agreed to work with the expert and the department to implement the expert’s recommendations. The expert will provide semiannual reports on their findings to the county and the department.
With more than 500 political districts and approximately 4.3 million registered voters, Los Angeles County is the largest election jurisdiction in the nation.
The Los Angeles County investigation is part of the department’s ADA Voting Initiative, which focuses on protecting the voting rights of individuals with disabilities across the country. More information about voting and elections is available at www.justice.gov/voting. For more information on the Civil Rights Division please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) or visit www.ada.gov. If you believe you have been discriminated against based on disability please submit a report at www.civilrights.justice.gov.
Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Civil Rights Section Richard Park and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Hikida, Matthew Barragan, Margaret Chen and Alexandra Young for the Central District of California handled the matter, in coordination with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section.
Last month marked the 34th anniversary of the ADA, which President George H.W. Bush signed into law on July 26, 1990. The ADA was the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for persons with disabilities. As we celebrate the 34th anniversary of the ADA, we take time to recognize the benefits of the ADA while also appreciating that there is still work to be done to achieve the enduring goals of equity, inclusion and accessibility for persons with disabilities.