Settlement Agreement with Newton County, AR, for Election Polling Place Accessibility
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND
THE NEWTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS AND NEWTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS
DJ NO. 204-10-40
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The US Department of Justice (“Department”, “DOJ”) entered into a settlement agreement with Newton County, Arkansas and its Board of Election Commissioners (“Board”) to resolve an investigation conducted under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), regarding election polling places accessibility.
The Department’s investigation found that all of the polling places surveyed contained architectural barriers that rendered the facilities inaccessible to voters with disabilities, Discrepancies included:
a lack of accessible parking areas and accessible routes due to gravel and grass ground surfaces
excessively sloped ramps
ramps without handrails and edge protection
numerous gaps and excessive level changes along exterior routes
protruding objects
a lack of operable accessible voting machines at all polling places
Under the agreement, the County will:
Provide accessible polling places in order to have a voting program that is accessible to persons with disabilities, including persons with mobility or vision disabilities.
Revise all relevant policies, practices, and procedures to comply with the ADA.
Provide training to election officers, poll workers, and County employees on the requirements of the agreement, including accessibility protections under Title II of the ADA, and anti-retaliation protections under Title V of the ADA.
Designate an employee to serve as the County’s ADA Coordinator.
Reviewing Compliance: The United States may review compliance with this Agreement at any time. The Board will cooperate fully with the United States’ efforts to monitor compliance with this Agreement, including by providing the United States with timely access to polling places (including on Election Day), maps, surveys, employees, contractors, training sessions, relevant documents, and other reasonably requested information. At least biannually, the parties will confer to assess the Board’s compliance with this Agreement. If the United States believes that the Board has failed to comply in a timely manner with any requirement of this Agreement, or that any requirement has been violated, the United States will so notify the Board in writing and will attempt to resolve the issue in good faith. If the United States is unable to reach a satisfactory resolution of the issue within 30 days of the date it notifies the Board, the United States may file a civil action in federal district court to enforce the terms of this Agreement, or take any other action to enforce Title II of the ADA.
SUMMARY: This election polling place settlement agreement was reached in lieu of a lawsuit. This process and settlement agreement could have been prevented if Newton County had been pro-active in their approach to ADA compliance at election polling places.
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