Delaware lawmakers are working on legislation to make sure all polling locations are ADA compliant ahead of November’s general election.
According to a report from the Community Legal Aid Society released last May, after assessing just over half of Delaware’s polling locations, 30% lacked accessible parking spaces.
Additionally, the study found between three and 18% of polling places had problems with inaccessible routes from parking areas or inaccessible building entrances, non-compliant ramps, thresholds, doorways and door handles.
State Rep. Bill Carson (D-Smyrna) is championing legislation to address these concerns after receiving similar complaints from his constituents.
“I had, after the last election, a couple people had called saying that the places they went to vote were not ADA certified. So this bill will just take care of that so that the people will be able to properly, in the proper quarters, be able to vote," he said.
The legislation requires the Department of Elections (DOE) to make any necessary changes to ensure all polling locations are ADA compliant and allows anyone to file an administrative complaint with the department if they notice shortfalls.
The bill cleared the House Administration Committee in March, and Carson hopes it will be heard in the House by the end of April, giving DOE ample time to make changes before November’s general election.
“That’s one reason we want to get this in very early — so it really doesn’t have any effect on anyone — that they can make any changes [that] need to be done way ahead of time," Carson said.
The bill does provide certain exceptions for states of emergency or for circumstances in which no accessible polling place in a particular area is available.
In these cases, the Election Commissioner would be required to provide the impacted voters with an alternative accessible polling place or other means for casting a ballot upon advance request.
