LA County settles DOJ lawsuit alleging disabled voters were excluded from casting ballots in person

Federal prosecutors and Los Angeles County have settled allegations that voters with mobility and vision disabilities were excluded for years at local polling places in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, officials announced today.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office sued the county last year, alleging that a seven-year probe into the county’s voting program found that disabled residents were prevented from voting in person as far back as 2016. Investigators who surveyed more than 100 county voting centers noted such architectural barriers as steep ramps, abrupt level changes at walkways and entrance doors, and lack of accessible parking.

The impediments prevented people with mobility and vision disabilities from being able to safely access vote centers and cast their ballots in person, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court also alleged that the county’s curbside voting program was inaccessible, as certain polling centers lacked signage indicating that curbside voting was available or failed to provide sufficient means for a voter to contact an election worker for assistance with curbside voting.

County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean C. Logan said in a statement that while no systemic deficiencies were identified in the probe, aging infrastructure and facilities were partly to blame for access issues. The county’s agreement with the federal government will spur a focus on “the intricacies of sidewalk slopes, public transit access, and clear paths of travel leading to voting areas,” he said.

Under the settlement, filed Thursday, the county will work with an independent accessibility expert on site selection policies and procedures to ensure that facilities, buildings, sites or locations chosen to serve as vote centers are ADA compliant or can be made more accessible during the voting period by employing temporary measures.

The expert will provide biannual reports on the county’s progress, according to the agreement.

“Our mission has always been to provide fair, accessible, and transparent voting services to the voters of Los Angeles County,” Logan said in a statement. “We take pride in our longstanding engagement with the disability rights community and our direct collaboration with voters with disabilities in designing and developing our voting services. This resolution reinforces our commitment to these principles.”

With more than 500 political districts and about 4.3 million registered voters, L.A. County is the largest election jurisdiction in the nation.

“The right to vote is essential to our democracy and must be protected for all voters,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said. “Voters with disabilities are entitled to an equal opportunity to vote in person, privately and independently, alongside their neighbors and friends. We commend Los Angeles County for its commitment to work with the Justice Department to ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities.”