New Report: The Continued Suppression of Voters with Disabilities in South Carolina
Today Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A) released a new report outlining how many South Carolina polling places continue to be inaccessible for voters with disabilities. P&A surveyed 32 polling places in 20 counties throughout South Carolina in the November 6, 2018 midterm election, which they had found to be inaccessible four years earlier in 2014 in a previous report. County Election officials had multiple years to make these locations accessible after being informed of the problem and did not. Polling Places have been federally required to be accessible per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for 29 years. P&A believes the problem continues to exist because of a lack of awareness, support, funding, and oversight for the county voter registration and election boards. In order to fix these problems P&A urges that:
- County voter registration and elections boards implement new administrative, programmatic, and training procedures as suggested on page 14 this report.
- County voter registration and elections boards must be held accountable for ensuring they are in compliance with all federal and state laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- County government must get involved and show commitment to ensure all voters are equal by giving the election officials the resources and support they need to make improvements or changes.
Media Contact:
Maggie Knowles: 782-0639; knowles@pandasc.org
Erin Haire: 803-217-6702; haire@pandasc.org