Accessible Sample Ballots

October 5, 2016

Page 1

October 5, 2016

Greetings from West Virginia Advocates,

West Virginia Advocates, Inc. (WVA) serves individuals with disabilities as West Virginia’s Protection and Advocacy System. One of WVA’s grants is PAVA - Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access. The PAVA program allows WVA to ensure that individuals with disabilities who are eligible to vote can access full participation in the electoral process.

WVA wants you to be aware of your requirements to provide reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 “ADA”, including providing access to accessible Sample Ballots. Title II of the ADA covers "Public Entities" which include any State or local government and any of its departments, agencies, or other instrumentalities. All activities, services, and programs of public entities are covered, including activities of State legislatures and courts, town meetings, etc.

Unlike section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which only covers programs receiving Federal financial assistance, Title II extends to all the activities of State and local governments whether or not they receive Federal funds. Under Title II of the ADA, State and Local governments:

  • are required to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures that deny equal access to individuals with disabilities, unless a fundamental alteration in the program would result.
  • must furnish auxiliary aids and services when necessary to ensure effective communication, unless an undue burden or fundamental alteration would result.
  • may not place special charges on individuals with disabilities to cover the costs of measures necessary to ensure nondiscriminatory treatment, such as making modifications required to provide program accessibility or providing qualified interpreters.
  • shall operate their programs so that, when viewed in their entirety, they are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

Title II also requires that State and local governments must ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities. Where necessary to ensure that communications with individuals with hearing, vision, or speech impairments are as effective as communications with others, the public entity must provide appropriate auxiliary aids.

"Auxiliary aids" include such services or devices as qualified interpreters, assistive listening headsets, television captioning and decoders, telecommunications devices for deaf persons (TDD's), videotext displays, readers, taped texts, Brailled materials, and large print materials. A public entity may not charge an individual with a disability for the use of an auxiliary aid.

WVA requests that when sample ballots are printed in the local newspaper that a statement be added providing directions on how a registered voter may obtain an accessible ballot. For example, adding a statement that says “Alternative formats, such as large print, can be requested by contacting the County Clerk’s office at 304-XXX-XXXX”. WVA also requests that this statement be added to the sample ballots that are available on your website. If you do not have a website, please send your sample ballot to the Secretary of State’s office, so that they may add it to their website.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the information provided, please contact me at 304-346-0847 or toll free at 1-800-950-5250, extension 23. I can also be emailed at .

Sincerely,

Gina Desmond

Advocate

Cc: Natalie E. Tennant, WV Secretary of State

Layna Valentine-Brown, WV Secretary of State’s Office Elections Director

Ann McDaniel, WV Statewide Independent Living Council

Christy Black, WV Developmental Disabilities Council

Michelle Norweck, WV Statewide Independent Living Council

Larry Paxton, Appalachian Center for Independent Living

Anne Weeks, Mountain State Center for IndependentLiving

Jan Derry, Northern West Virginia Center for Independent Living

Paul Smith, Fair Shake Network