(CN) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office sued Los Angeles County on Thursday, claiming several voting centers discriminated against disabled voters in recent elections and failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The federal lawsuit follows a seven-year investigation into LA County’s voting program, which found that the county — acting through its registrar-recorder — excluded voters with mobility and vision disabilities as far back as 2016.
The initial investigation, opened in April 2016, surveyed 88 voting locations through June 7, 2016, finding that 73 sites did not comply with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. But despite informing the county of its Title II violations in September 2016, the county failed to improve accessibility to disabled voters in subsequent elections.
In March 2020, for example, the government found all 106 locations that it surveyed in LA County failed to provide voters with van-accessible parking while exhibiting noncompliant elements or features, such as unleveled ground, excessive cross slopes on designated accessible routes, ramps with steep running slopes, narrow building entries and pathways to voting areas and interior routes with protruding objects.
More of the same elements were present at 65 county locations during the November 2020 general election, the government claims, adding that while surveying six drop boxes that year, only two provided an accessible route from the public sidewalk with sufficient or level ground space. The same pattern persisted into the 2022 general election, where all 52 surveyed locations failed to provide complaint voting centers.
“The county’s vote centers include facilities that the United States identified in its Sept. 13, 2016, letter as noncompliant with Title II, its regulation and the applicable 1991 and 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. The county continues to use such facilities in federal, state and local elections, without providing a temporary or permanent measure to correct the non-compliant features,” the government says in its lawsuit.
According to the complaint, at least one voter that relied on a wheelchair reported to the Department of Justice claiming she had difficulty accessing the county’s voting system at a senior facility in Chatsworth, California, during the August 2019 special election.
“Although a curbside voting sign was posted in front of the parking area at the Devonshire Street polling place, no polling official or staff were outside the facility to identify or assist curbside voters,” the government says in the lawsuit. “The County had not provided a buzzer or other mechanism by which D.G. could alert the polling staff that she wished to vote curbside.”
The lawsuit adds that the only way the resident could vote was to have a family member enter the polling venue for her, wait in line and register her to vote, bring her driver’s license inside for identification verification, bring her ballot outside for her to vote and then finally bring the completed ballot back inside.
During the whole process, no polling staff or officials assisted the resident in curbside voting. The lawsuit states that the resident felt “dismayed and frustrated by her treatment at the polling place” and “felt as if she had lost her freedom to vote privately and independently like everyone else.”
“Voting is a fundamental right, and we will do everything we can to ensure that it is not limited or denied to anyone in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada in a statement. “Through this lawsuit, we demand that Los Angeles County afford individuals with disabilities an opportunity to participate in the county’s voting program that is equal to that provided to nondisabled individuals.”
In another statement, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said the lawsuit “should send a strong message to officials across the country regarding the Justice Department’s firm commitment to ensuring polling place accessibility.”
Shortly after the new broke of the lawsuit, the office of Dean C. Logan, Los Angeles County’s registrar-recorder and county clerk, released a statement disputing the investigation’s findings, stating the Justice Department’s action is not reflective of the county’s long history of active engagement with its disability community.
Logan said the county became aware of the possibility of the lawsuit in May and had been activity working in good faith to reach an agreement with the government for “enhanced assessment and mitigation of physical barriers at vote centers alleged to violated the Americans with Disability Act.”
“I am disheartened by this action despite our good faith efforts to reach agreement on a reasonable settlement. The assertions made in the media release do not reflect the voting model or service delivery provided by Los Angeles County,” Logan said. “That said, we remain committed to addressing accessibility issues in an equitable and effective manner and will be vigilant in preserving the extensive work the county has done to improve access to voting, broadly, and specifically for voters with disabilities and other specific needs.”
Logan said the county has found it difficult to meet standards of voting centers to ensure equitable distribution of voting locations that meet the act’s requirements and that “significant effort and resources are already expended in this regard.” As such, the county said it disputes the government’s findings and allegations and that the lawsuit could result in a reduction in services and access for communities with less resources to invest in infrastructure.
“We will continue to seek resolution of this matter in a manner that advances improved accessibility and that ensures equity and fairness in the distribution and availability of voting locations for all voters,” Logan said.
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