The ADA.gov website has published a guide for municipalities who still have not yet complied with ADA regulations.

Solutions for Five Common ADA Access Problems at Polling Places

Visit the REV UP booth at this weekend’s free Abilities Expo in Boston.    If you sign up with REV UP and pledge to vote in November, you can get a REV UP MA hat (The hats are wicked nice!).  See you there!

Friday, September 15:  11-5
Saturday, September 16: 11-5
Sunday, September 17: 11-4

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Hall C
415 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210

When:  Tuesday, September 27, 2016, 2:00 – 4:00 P.M.
Where:   Boston City Hall, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02201

Are you registered to vote?
Do you know who your City Councilor is?

Come Join Us and Find Out!

• Welcome by Mayor Walsh & City Officials
• See ADA Accessibility Upgrades in City Hall
• Find your City Councilor & Polling Place
• Register to Vote & Learn About Early Voting
• See Accessibility Features & try the Automark

Wheelchair Accessible * ASL * CART * Scent Free

For other accommodation requests, contact us By September 14th at  disability@boston.gov or call 617-635-3682 / 617-635-2541 TTY

For more information, visit www.boston.gov/disability

Hosted by:

• Mayor Martin J. Walsh
• Mayor’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities
• Boston Elections Department

FROM THE U.S. ACCESS BOARD:

Resources Available on Voting and Polling Place Accessibility

Voting is a fundamental and protected right for all citizens, including those with disabilities. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws, people with disabilities must have full and equal opportunities to vote. The Department of Justice (DOJ), which regulates and enforces ADA mandates that apply to state and local governments, offers several guides on the subject. These include the “ADA Checklist for Polling Places,” a 25-page resource DOJ recently updated that explains what makes a polling place accessible from entry onto the site to voting areas. It also recommends design remedies and provides a survey checklist for evaluating polling place accessibility. Other resources from DOJ include a bulletin that provides solutions to common access problems at polling places and a guide to federal laws that protect the rights of voters with disabilities.

In addition to the ADA, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 established requirements for voting systems used in Federal elections and requires access to polling places and voting systems for persons with disabilities. Under the law, each precinct in the country must have at least one accessible voting machine or system so that people with disabilities, including those with vision impairments, are afforded the same opportunity for participation, including privacy and independence, available to other voters. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC), which implements HAVA and issues guidance on meeting the requirements of the law, including guidelines for voting systems, is another key resource on accessible voting. The EAC offers a “BeReady16” toolkit that includes a section on accessibility, and other resources on accessible polling places and voting systems for voters with disabilities and voting officials. Visit EAC’s website at www.eac.gov for further information.

Those who encounter accessibility issues in voting can contact the Voting Section of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division which enforces civil provisions of federal laws that protect the right to vote, including HAVA and the Voting Rights Act. Complaints can be filed through an online form or submitted at voting.section@usdoj.gov (email), (800) 253-3931 (phone), (202) 307-3961 (fax), or the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Room 7254 – NWB, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20530.

Article by Elliot Spagat, Associated Press writer – from ABC Channel 10 in San Diego

“A former producer at NPR who lost his ability to walk and speak asked a judge Tuesday to restore his right to vote under a new California law that makes it easier for people with disabilities to keep that right and regain it if lost.”…

http://www.10news.com/news/restored-voting-rights-sought-for-calif-disabled-people

We’re not sure what the law in Massachusetts is.

Here are new videos on how to use the Automark machine from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

According to a new study by Lisa Schur and Douglas Kruse, of Rutgers University,  more than 35.4 million eligible voters with disabilities are projected to participate in this years election.  If these numbers are correct the disability vote will exceed voters who are African American or Latino.

Visit USA Today website to read the article.

Thank you to the Disability Policy Consortium for the link!

Callie Crossley, of WGBH (Boston public radio), talks about Early Voting in Vote of Confidence?  Early Voting Comes to Mass. 

The Boston Globe published an article on early voting readiness.  Sounds like the state is waiting until after the September Primary (which will not include Early Voting) to ramp up implementation.

Florida

Access the Vote – Disability Rights Florida

Texas

Austin Chronicle – REV Up the Vote

Maine

Disability Rights Maine – Voting Access

California

Disability Rights California – Voters with Disabilities

North Carolina

The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities Promotes REV UP Campaign – Making the DISABILITY VOTE Count

New York

New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, Inc. – User REV Up to Expand Voter Registration

Virginia

Governor Terry McAuliffe – Disability Voter Registration Week 2016

Washington

Proclamation REV Up – Make the Disability Vote Count

Arizona

Arizona Capitol Times – People with disabilities must exercise their right to vote