# 56

II-3.3000                                    February 5, 1993



XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Colorado Springs, Colorado  80918
     
     

Dear Ms. XXXXXXXXX:

     This letter constitutes the Department of Justice's Letter
of Findings in response to your complaint filed with our office
on August 3, 1992, against the State of Colorado under title II
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

     Your complaint alleges that the State of Colorado requires
that all individuals, including individuals with disabilities,
who wish to vote absentee, must apply for an absentee ballot
before each election.  You state that you are unable to go to the
polling place because of your disability and must use an absentee
ballot.  (You did not allege that your polling place is
inaccessible, and the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder alleges
that all polling places are accessible and that the Election
Judges can bring the voting unit outside to the voter's car to
assist an individual with a disability.)  You allege that it is
unfair that you must apply for an absentee ballot before each
election.

     The Civil Rights Division has completed its investigation of
your complaint.  Our investigation revealed that Colorado
recently amended its absentee ballot law.  The revised law
permits an individual to file one application at the beginning of
the year for absentee ballots for all of the elections to be held
during the year.(1-8-103 (1) and (4), Colorado Revised Statutes,
1980 Repl. Vol., as amended)

     Section 35.149 of the Department of Justice's regulation
implementing title II (28 C.F.R. pt. 35) states that no qualified
individual with a disability shall, on the basis of disability,
be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of
the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be
subjected to discrimination by any public entity because the
public entity's facilities are inaccessible to or unusable by
individuals with disabilities.  Your complaint, however, alleges
that you are unable to vote at the poll because you are unable to
go to the poll, rather than because your polling place is
inaccessible.  The procedures utilized by the State of Colorado
provide an equal opportunity to participate in elections for all
individuals who are unable to get to the polling places. 
Acordingly, the Colorado staute does not discriminate against
individuals with disabilities and does not violate title II of
the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

     This letter constitutes our letter of findings with respect 
to your allegations of discrimination in your administrative 
complaint.  If you are dissatisfied with our determination, you 
may file a private complaint in the United States District Court 
under title II of the ADA.

     Under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 522, we may
be required to release this letter and other correspondence and 
records related to your complaint in response to a request from a
third party.  Should we receive such a request, we will 
safeguard, to the extent permitted by the Freedom of Information 
Act and the Privacy Act, the release of information which could 
constitute an unwarranted invasion of your or other's privacy.   
 
                             Sincerely,



                         Stewart B. Oneglia
                               Chief
                    Coordination and Review Section
                        Civil Rights Division  
   
cc:  Donetta Davidson, Elections Officer