Daily News | Despite advances, Philadelphia still falls short of providing equal polling place access to disabled voters
In 2007, several Philadelphia residents initiated a class-action lawsuit against city officials, alleging that around a quarter of all polling locations were out of reach to voters who could not walk up and down stairs. In a subsequent 2009 settlement, the U.S. Department of Justice required Philadelphia to make changes to allow people with mobility impairments to vote in-person.
Another 59 precincts vote in buildings in which one or two of the ADA criteria are not met “by a slight margin, but it is acceptable because there are no better options” for those polling places, according to a rubric shared by Custodio. The City Commissioner’s Office is aware of missing ramps and has “worked to address these concerns and believes that the situation has improved recently,” said Custodio. He noted that portable ramps are now stored on-site, and poll workers are reminded to put them out before 7 a.m. on election days.
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