DOJ Sues Los Angeles County Claiming ADA Violations at Vote Centers

People cast their vote for the U.S. midterm elections at the Los Angeles County Registrar in Norwalk, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2022. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

The federal government is suing Los Angeles County for allegedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by restricting access for disabled people at vote centers during the 2020 primary and general elections, and the 2022 general election.

In the complaint filed June 29 in U.S. District Court, the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks a court order to direct the county to comply with the ADA, develop a plan to remedy the alleged violations, and no longer discriminate against people with disabilities.

“Voting is a fundamental right, and we will do everything we can to ensure that it is not limited or denied to anyone in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada in a statement. “Through this lawsuit, we demand that Los Angeles County afford individuals with disabilities an opportunity to participate in the county’s voting program that is equal to that provided to nondisabled individuals.”

The DOJ opened an investigation of the county’s voting program in April 2016, according to the lawsuit provided to The Epoch Times. During the probe, investigators surveyed 88 polling places used by the county during the June 7, 2016, primary election.

Of the 88 polling places, only 15 complied with ADA regulations, the DOJ alleges.

The federal government informed the county in September 2016 that it was in violation of ADA regulations by denying voters with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in the county’s voting programs, services, and activities, including by failing to select places that are accessible to people with disabilities, according to the DOJ.

A voter receives assistance from an election worker at a voting center in Grand Central Market in Los Angeles on Nov. 3, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

That same month in 2016, the state passed Senate Bill 450, the California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA), which fundamentally changed the way Californian’s voted. The new law allowed counties to mail every voter a ballot, provide secure ballot drop-off locations throughout the county, expand in-person early voting, and allowed voters to cast a ballot at any vote center within their county.

By the March 3, 2020, primary election, Los Angeles County voters could cast a ballot at any vote center in the county or use vote-by-mail ballots. Federal investigators conducted surveys of 106 of the more than 975 vote centers established in the county during the election and found each of the 106 centers did not meet ADA standards, according to the lawsuit.

The vote centers surveyed during the 2020 primary election had features that did not comply with ADA, with some that included a lack of van-accessible parking, locked gates, ramps with steep running slopes, and narrow entrances or exits. Some centers had routes with protruding objects and a lack of turning space at voting machines, the DOJ said.

During the Nov. 3, 2020, general election, investigators said they surveyed 65 vote centers of the 750 in place, and all of them had violated ADA in some manner, according to the lawsuit.

Federal investigators also surveyed ballot drop boxes at seven voter sites during the 2020 general election and found four of them did not meet ADA standards. Some, for instance, lacked accessible routes from the sidewalk to the drop box or did not have enough space in front of the ballot box, the DOJ added.

In November 2022, the government surveyed 52 of the county’s 642 vote centers and 10 ballot drop boxes. None of the vote centers were ADA compliant and only four of the drop boxes met the standards, the DOJ said.

Vote centers in Pasadena, North Hollywood, Downey, and Watts, are still used, even though the federal government alerted the county the centers did not fully comply with ADA requirements, the DOJ said in a release.

People vote at outdoor booths during early voting for the mid-term elections in Pasadena, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2018. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

At least one voter with disabilities, named “D.G.” in the lawsuit, had difficulty accessing the county’s curbside voting system when attempting to vote in Chatsworth in a 2019 special election, according to the DOJ. D.G. was only able to vote because she had a family member with her, but the county did not provide a buzzer or have staff available in the parking lot to assist her.

“D.G. reported feeling dismayed and frustrated by her treatment at the polling place and that she felt as if she had lost her freedom to vote privately and independently like everyone else,” the DOJ wrote in the lawsuit.

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk Dean Logan disputed the allegations, saying the lawsuit didn’t reflect the county’s history of engaging the disability rights community.

The county became aware of the potential lawsuit last month and was working to reach an agreement with the federal government to comply, but the DOJ abruptly abandoned the discussions, Mr. Logan’s office said in a news release June 29.

“I am disheartened by this action despite our good faith efforts to reach an agreement on a reasonable settlement,” Mr. Logan said in the statement. “The assertions made in the [DOJ’s] media release do not reflect the voting model or service delivery provided by Los Angeles County.”

According to Mr. Logan, the county offers extended voting periods, vote centers, and ballot drop boxes that offer late-night and overnight voting opportunities.

“Because of our expansion beyond the traditional voting model, we need to site voting locations broadly across the County—including in sites that we do not control or operate,” Mr. Logan’s office added in the release.