Early Voting Accessibility Improving in Orleans Parish: Registrar of Voters and Advocacy Center Partner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Orleans, LA, January 19, 2010 –

From Saturday, January 23rd to Saturday, January 30th, Orleans parish residents will have the opportunity to vote early for the February 6th election.

A recently released report by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled, “Voters with Disabilities: More Polling Places Had No Potential Impediments Than in 2000, but Challenges Remain”* found that polling place accessibility nationwide increased by 11%, rising from 16% in 2000 to 27% in 2008; however, the majority of sites still pose challenges to the elderly and persons with disabilities, particularly for voters in wheelchairs.”

Sandra Wilson, Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters, has committed to ensuring all early voting sites are accessible.  Accessible voting sites allow all voters, including those who use wheelchairs or have other types of disabilities, to park, travel safely to the voting area, enter the building and vote. 

Advocacy Center staff will be accompanying staff from the Registrar of Voters office to assess each site and ensure temporary or permanent modification are in place to make each site as accessible as possible.

According to Stephanie Patrick, Advocacy Center Director of Outreach and Training, “We applaud the efforts of Ms. Wilson, the Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters office and the Secretary of State Elections division to ensure early voting is accessible to people with disabilities.  These election officials have chosen to be proactive in their efforts, attempting to anticipate problems before they occur.  We hope other parish officials will do the same.”

If voters with disabilities encounter barriers in early voting or on Election Day, Advocacy Center staff members are available to help.  Call 1-800-960-7705 for assistance.

Both state and federal law require polling places to be accessible to people with disabilities.

*http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09685.pdf

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Media Contact:  Lois Simpson or Stephanie Patrick at media@advocacyla.org

For more information, email: advocacycenter@advocacyla.org

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About the Advocacy Center

The Advocacy Center is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to assisting people with disabilities and seniors in Louisiana to achieve maximum potential and independence.  The Advocacy Center employs 70 people statewide who assist people to achieve employment, education, housing, and health care goals.