Report on Accessibility Inspections of New Jersey Polling Places, 9/27/07
County Election Boards Certify Poll Accessibility, Despite Persistent Barriers A Public Advocate spot inspection of polling places across the state found that only one out of five, or 20 percent, met the legal requirements for disability access required by federal law. Of the 121 polling sites inspected, only two had been declared deficient in mandatory certifications county boards of elections submitted to state elections overseers. This persistent problem makes it more difficult for people with disabilities to exercise their right to vote, said Public Advocate Ronald Chen. “Fifteen years after federal laws went into effect requiring that the state’s approximately 3,500 polling places be made accessible to the handicapped and elderly, our most-recent inspections found that far too many sites remain inaccessible to people with disabilities, while the oversight mechanisms intended to detect and fix these problems are failing,” Chen said. “With the November elections less than two months away, it is time for the county boards of election to fix these problems,” Chen added. On June 5, the Public Advocate sent teams of inspectors to 121 sites in nine of New Jersey’s 21 counties. The inspections found:
Chen noted that while the sample is not intended to be statistically significant, the results still are cause for grave concern. Some of the sites chosen for inspection had failed one or more previous inspections. Others were chosen because they were reflective of the typical polling sites in the area, such as a firehouse. The fact that many of these sites failed the Public Advocate’s inspection yet still earned a passing grade from the Voting Accessibility Advisory Committees (VAACs), is an alarming disparity, said Chen. The committees are county-level boards charged with inspecting sites and ensuring accessibility. “Moreover, even where inspectors from county advisory groups – which include the four county Board of Elections members in each of the jurisdictions -- identified accessibility problems, six of the nine county boards of elections disregarded these problems and certified that every single one of their respective facilities was accessible,” the report said. Of the three other counties, one promised compliance by November 2007; one took the positive step of relocating two inaccessible polling places; and the Public Advocate did not receive complete documentation from the other. “It is especially disturbing to see that polling sites that clearly violate the law still received a passing grade from the county board,” Chen said. Approximately 300,000 of New Jersey’s voting-age residents use wheelchairs or other aids to move about, including canes, crutches or walkers. More than 1 million of the state’s residents are senior citizens who would benefit from improvements that make polling places easier to enter. “Voting is the foundation of our democracy and a fundamental right of every American. Every citizen should be concerned when any group or individual is denied the opportunity to exercise his or her voting right privately and independently,” Chen said. “It’s simply unacceptable that while 15 years have elapsed, poor design and physical obstacles like flights of stairs or narrow doorways still create barriers.” The Public Advocate made the following key recommendations:
Read the full report. |
