U.S. Attorney Ortiz Conducts Review of Disability Access to Polls on Super Tuesday

BOSTON – United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz announced today that her office’s Civil Rights Unit conducted a review of all polling locations in Lawrence and Barnstable to determine whether the polls are being operated in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

“Our constitution gives Americans the right to vote, but that right is meaningless if there are physical barriers that prevent people from casting their ballot,” said U.S. Attorney Ortiz.  “Disability rights have been a major focus of my office’s civil rights work in recent years, and my office will continue to vigorously ensure compliance with the ADA in Massachusetts.”   

The U.S. Attorney’s Office selected these locations for review to ensure that they are accessible to the large numbers of residents who are expected to vote at these polling locations during the Presidential primary election on Super Tuesday.  In a study following the previous Presidential election, the Government Accountability Office found that only 27% of polling places had no potential impediments to access by people with disabilities, meaning 73% of polling locations contained architectural barriers to voting.  This initiative is being conducted in accordance with the Department of Justice’s statutory responsibility to review compliance with federal law and not in response to any specific complaint against any of the polling locations.  

Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by the owners and operators of places of public accommodation, including polling locations, and the right to participate in state and local government programs and services.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office periodically undertakes ADA compliance reviews to ensure equal access for people with disabilities. 

As part of its Super Tuesday ADA compliance review, attorneys, architects, and staff from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice surveyed every polling place in Lawrence and Barnstable.  If these site visits reveal that a particular polling location is not in compliance with the ADA, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will notify the appropriate state and local official of the violation and will provide a timeframe to correct the issue(s).  The goal is to ensure that all polling locations are fully compliant in time for the Presidential election on Nov. 8, 2016.

The Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office was established in 2015 with the mission of enhancing federal civil rights enforcement.  For more information on the Office’s civil rights efforts, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-ma/civil-rights.