Election Polling Place ADA Training

ADAIN offers training for election polling place managers, staff and volunteers using a two-three hour classroom presentation followed by a one hour walk-through of an election site to demonstrate the principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. The course is designed in conjunction with the ADA Checklist for Polling Places offered by the US Department of Justice, shown on the right.

The classroom presentation provides the background information needed to understand the ADA Checklist for Polling Places. The one hour walk-through is critical to allow participants to apply the information they learn in the classroom. This type of knowledge and practical application from a live presentation is not available from an on-line course.

This course is important to all employees in the County Elections Division and any relevant contractors or vendors, including those who conduct surveys or implement temporary measures, on Title II of the ADA as it applies to election polling places. A graphic presentation of a polling place is shown below indicating the elements that could be found in a polling place.

This training course covers polling place accessibility requirements under the 2010 ADA Standards and includes temporary remedial measures at polling places on Election Day.

Using this course, his experience as a building inspector, and his training as an ADA Coordinator and compliance inspector, Richard can help educate individuals or groups of interested parties in the more significant ADA issues and discrepancies found at many election sites. Going further, if requested, Richard can inspect a representative number of facilities to identify ADA issues unique to your polling places and prepare a training program specific to your needs.

This presentation discusses the most common issues found at polling places and frequently listed in settlements with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that result from complaints received by the DOJ. An example of these complaints is shown in the photo below. What you are looking at is a single ADA parking place that has numerous discrepancies. These discrepancies include the lack of an accessible aisle, no Van Accessible parking allowance, incomplete space marking on the left side where an unconventional curb is installed, the vegetation encroaching on the right side, a poor sign installation that is too short, and gaps in the surface of the parking space.

The graphic below depicts a proper sign installation, although the single space should also be Van Accessible.

This is just an example of the many issues that can be found at election polling places. Numerous counties in the United States have been confronted by the DOJ about ADA accessibility at their election polling places. Don’t let that happen in your county. Take action now to make sure your polling places are accessible to disabled people and your polling place workers are trained in how to maintain their facilities in accessible condition. Call Richard at 615-752-0060 to schedule this training before it is too late.