Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEWARK–The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has secured agreements with the Hudson and Morris County Boards of Election to ensure that the counties provide accessible polling places to voters with disabilities, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced today. The agreement resolves the United States’ investigations into both counties’ compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by state or local government in its programs or services.
The United States’ investigation identified architectural barriers at multiple polling places in both counties that rendered some of the polling places not fully accessible to voters with disabilities. The Boards of Elections in both counties have cooperated fully with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to reach these agreements to improve physical accessibility at their respective polling place locations.
“Ensuring that all eligible citizens can participate in the voting process is one of the most fundamental elements of our democracy. Voters with disabilities have a right to vote at their local polling places free from barriers to physical accessibility. Our office remains committed to using every tool available to ensure that all eligible New Jersey voters can cast their ballot without barriers.”
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger
Under the settlement agreement, the Election Boards will each employ temporary measures, such as portable ramps and signage, where appropriate, to make their existing polling places accessible. They will also train poll workers on the ADA’s accessibility requirements, how to use temporary measures to make polling places accessible, and how to survey polling locations for accessibility on Election Day. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will monitor the Board of Elections’ compliance with the agreements and provide them with technical assistance.
The United States is represented by Senior Civil Rights Counsel Kelly Horan Florio and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thandiwe Boylan of the U.S. Attorney’s Civil Rights Division.
Individuals who believe they may have been victims of discrimination may file a complaint with the U.S Attorney’s Office at http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement/complaint or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Complaint Hotline at (855) 281-3339. Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Department of Justice’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TDD).