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Following a lengthy investigation that determined the County of Los Angeles discriminated against persons with disabilities at vote centers during recent elections, the United States Attorney’s Office has filed a lawsuit alleging the county has failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The investigation into the county’s voting program found that the county, acting through its registrar-recorder, excluded qualified individuals with mobility disabilities and those with vision disabilities from participating in the county’s voting programs.
The complaint filed in United States District Court seeks a court order directing the county to comply with the ADA, promptly develop a plan to completely remedy the alleged violations, and not further discriminate against individuals with disabilities.
The lawsuit was brought under Title II of the ADA, which prohibits public entities from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities. The federal investigation has focused on physical accessibility for persons with mobility disabilities and persons with vision disabilities at county vote centers during the 2020 primary election, the 2020 general election and the 2022 general election, but also included other aspects of the county’s voting programs, including curbside voting and ballot drop boxes. The lawsuit identifies specific vote centers in Pasadena, North Hollywood, Downey and Watts that are still in use, even though the federal government first alerted the county about accessibility deficiencies at the first three facilities in September 2016 and the Watts location in July 2020. Other accessibility problems were identified with ballot drop boxes used during the November 2020 and November 2022 general elections.
If you see any accessibility problems in the March 5, 2024 election, or during early voting, please call 1-800-514-0301 (voice) or 1-800-514-0383 (TTY) right away.
For more information about voting rights please visit https://disabilityvoteca.org/.