File photo: WRN
A new report from the state Government Accountability Board shows there were a large number of disability access problems at polling places around the state during the last two years.
The GAB inspected more than 800 polling places around the state in 48 of 72 counties, uncovering about 4,000 accessibility problems. Agency spokesman Reid Magney says those ranged from small issues, such as print on signs that was too small to read, to larger problems, such as having no tables at wheelchair height. About 42 percent of the violations were serious enough that they could have have hindered a disabled voter’s ability to independently and privately cast a ballot.
The number of issues did drop from the previous round of checks, from an average of 6.5 per polling place in 2013 to 4.9 per location during the 2014-15 cycle.
Magney says local clerks are notified of the problems, and the state works with them to develop a plan to address the issues. In most cases, he says they are relatively simple and inexpensive to fix.