Accessibility

April 2010
1The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Accessibility is part of a series of brochures 

designed to highlight and summarize the 

information contained in the chapters of 

the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s 

(EAC) Election Management Guidelines 

(EMG). The goal of the EMG is to provide 

a collection of administrative practices, 

consolidated into one document, to assist 

State and local election officials to 

effectively manage and administer elections. 

These guidelines are designed solely to 

serve as a source of information for election 

officials. However, due to the need for 

election management resources, Quick 

Starts are released as they are completed.

The content of the EMG and the Quick Start 

Management Guides has been developed 

in collaboration with Federal agencies 

and disability organizations, as well as 

State and local election officials and other 

election professionals who have first-hand 

experience managing elections. The EAC is 

grateful for their participation to ensure that 

the guidelines are practical and applicable 

for jurisdictions regardless of their size and 

resources. The EMG and the Quick Starts 

are available online at www.eac.gov.

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The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

Introduction

 • Election officials work each day to

 make elections more accessible to the 

 public. Voting systems with improved 

 accessibility have facilitated 

 independent voting for some voters 

 with disabilities for the first time in 

 their lives. The added focus on making 

 polling places accessible also serves 

 to help people with disabilities to vote 

 independently on Election Day. 

 • 1 in 5 people in the U.S. has a 

 disability. “Disability” is defined by 

 the Americans with Disabilities Act 

 (ADA) as a physical or mental 

 impairment that substantially limits 

 one or more major life activities, a 

 record of such an impairment, or 

 being regarded as having such an 

 impairment. 

 – Over half of all people who have a 

 physical disability are hard of 

 hearing. 

 • Some disabilities are easily perceptible 

 (e.g. persons in wheelchairs or who use 

 assistance animals). However, many 

 people with disabilities do not exhibit 

 easily observable manifestations such 

 as canes, guide dogs, or the use of sign 

 language. Therefore, individuals who 

 interact with the public should be 

 perceptive and try to anticipate the 

 needs of people who may require 

 assistance. 

 • People can experience disabilities 

 relating to hearing, speech, vision, 

 dexterity, mobility, or cognition. Other 

 populations include those with 

 environmental sensitivities to

 substances, such as perfumes and air 

 fresheners. Disabilities can range from 

 mild to severe.

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1The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

 • “Accessibility” is a term that refers

 to the removal of barriers that make

 it difficult or impossible for some 

 people with disabilities to use 

 something. It can refer to the 

 physical environment (e.g., the polling 

 place) or to technology (e.g.,the 

 voting systems.) Working to improve 

 accessibility for persons with 

 disabilities supports increased 

 involvement in the electoral process. 

 • There are many laws that are 

 designed to assist people with 

 disabilities. Federal laws including the 

 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 

 and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 

 cover accessibility issues such as the 

 physical polling place, the voting 

 activity, and the voting systems. State 

 laws may also be helpful. For example, 

 some State laws governing 

 information technology help to ensure 

 that elections offices websites are 

 accessible to persons with disabilities.

 • Accessibility covers all aspects of 

 running an elections office – 

 registering to vote, accessing a 

 website, recruiting and training poll 

 workers, entering a polling place, and 

 casting a secret ballot. Accessibility 

 needs are far-reaching, and have been 

 addressed by the EAC in several other 

 Quick Start Guides. They are “Polling 

 Places and Vote Centers;” “Ballot 

 Preparation/Printing and Pre-Election 

 Testing;” “Poll Workers;”“Absentee 

 Voting and Vote by Mail;” “Media and 

 Public Relations;” and, “Serving 

 Voters in Long-Term Care Facilities.” 

 • The Quick Start on Accessibility 

 provides many examples of ways to 

 improve accessibility and to 

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The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

 incorporate these practices into all 

 aspects of election administration.

Managing an Accessible 

Elections Office

Staff and Poll Worker Training

 • Review all training material for full 

 and part-time staff and poll workers. 

 Ensure that it includes accessibility 

 training. 

 • Example training videos include:

 – Oregon’s Assisting Voters with

 Disabilities Training Video 

 (http://www.sos.state.or.us/

 elections/HAVA/avwdcaptions.

 wmv)

 – North Carolina’s State Board of 

 Elections Accessibility Videos 

 (http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/

 content aspx?id=57) 

 • Voters may not be aware of available 

 accommodations for persons with 

 disabilities. Because of this, poll 

 workers and elections office staff 

 should be trained to notice disabilities 

 and to offer to help. 

 

 – For example, a voter may report 

 difficulty seeing where to sign-in 

 at the check-in table. A poll worker 

 trained to identify voters who are 

 visually impaired might offer a 

 magnifying glass for the signature 

 sheet. Such an offer could also 

 serve as an opportunity to provide 

 information about voting systems 

 with screen magnification options.

Tip: It is best to face people when talking 

to them as opposed to speaking while 

looking down at the poll book.

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1The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

 • Understanding a few tips in disability 

 etiquette may help an election official 

 to interact more effectively. Basics 

 include: not making assumptions, 

 asking before helping, and being 

 sensitive about physical contact. It is 

 better, for example, to offer an arm 

 when leading someone who is blind 

 to a voting station, rather than 

 grabbing their arm and pulling them. 

 Service animals, such as guide dogs, 

 are allowed in the polling place and it 

 is not appropriate to pet them while 

 they are working. Disability etiquette 

 publications with further information 

 can be viewed freely on the Internet 

 and make informative inserts in a poll 

 worker training package. 

Accountability

 • Discuss appointing a staff member in

 the elections office with responsibility 

 for improving accessibility during 

 election administration. 

 • Encourage advance development of a 

 procedure for handling accessibility 

 complaints or inquiries.

 • Prepare information and instructions

 for voters with disabilities about the 

 processes to register to vote and for 

 using the accessibility features of 

 voting systems.

Disability Outreach

 • Review all printed material available 

 to the public and offer it in alternative 

 formats. For example, some 

 jurisdictions provide large print 

 example ballots at the polls. If a 

 document can be made available 

 electronically on a website, then it 

 can be reviewed by voters before 

 they go to the polling place. Consider 

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The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

 providing materials in large print and 

 audio versions. 

 • Create a partnership between State

 and local jurisdictions and disability 

 nonprofit groups to pool resources to

 develop accessibility solutions. From 

 poll worker accessibility training to 

 checklists for inspecting polling 

 places, there are many resources 

 already available. Most of these can 

 be tailored to fit the needs of just 

 about any jurisdiction. 

Tip: Consider establishing an Accessibility 

Advisory Board within the jurisdiction. 

Schedule regular meetings to solicit input

and to gather suggestions and ideas about 

how to make the voting process and polling 

places more accessible to individuals with 

disabilities. 

 • Outreach to Voters

 – Election officials might consider 

 developing an outreach plan to 

 raise awareness among voters 

 with disabilities about accessible 

 polling places and the accessible 

 elections program in the

 jurisdiction. 

 – The outreach might include the

 following:

 

n Do voters with disabilities 

 know how to... 

 • Register to vote;

 • Use the accessible voting 

 system? 

 

n Do voters with disabilities 

 know about various available 

 accommodations such as...

 • Information in large print on 

 paper; 

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1The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

 • The documents and other 

 information viewable in 

 advance on an elections 

 website;

 n Do voters with disabilities know 

 whom to contact if they have a 

 problem?

 • Outreach to Government

 – Most States have a Governor’s 

 Commission on Disability that 

 advises the State on disabilities

 issues. 

 – Many counties also have local 

 commissions that focus on 

 improving access to government 

 for individuals with disabilities. 

 These organizations may help 

 local election officials reach those 

 individuals in the community who 

 might need information on the 

 various accessibility 

 accommodations.

 • Outreach to Nonprofits

 – Reach out to the disability community 

 for assistance in circulating voter 

 registration information and voting 

 materials and for poll worker 

 recruitment. Organizations in the 

 community can assist election 

 officials in providing information to 

 their constituents. 

 – Disability organizations may be able 

 to help locate individuals with 

 disabilities or accessibility expertise

 to help evaluate voting systems as 

 part of State or local procurement 

 processes. 

 

Tip: When purchasing new voting 

equipment, reach out to the disabilities 

community to participate in the selection of 

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The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

the equipment. Continue to use them as a 

resource for ballot design and testing of the 

audio ballot.

 • Experienced staff of disability 

 organizations may be able to review

 draft documents from an accessibility 

 perspective. Such materials might 

 include marketing materials, 

 emergency evacuation procedures, 

 voting instructions (including for audio 

 ballots) and/or public service 

 announcements.

 • Disability organizations may welcome 

 an invitation to help present a 

 component of poll worker training on

 sensitivity to disability issues. 

Information and Communications 

Technology

 • Technology related to election 

 administration includes telephones, 

 websites, voting systems, and 

 electronic documents (such as an 

 online voter registration application).

 • Internet accessibility evaluation tools 

 are software programs or online

 services that help determine if a

 website meets commonly accepted 

 accessibility standards and guidelines. 

 While Internet accessibility evaluation 

 tools can significantly reduce the time 

 and effort to evaluate websites, no tool 

 can automatically determine the 

 accessibility of a website. Some of 

 these tools can be used in combination 

 to address specific aspects of the 

 evaluation process. Many, but not all, 

 of those software companies charge a 

 fee for their tool.

 – A list of Web Accessibility Evaluation 

 Tools can be found at the website of 

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1The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

 the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative: 

 http://www.w3.org/WAI/RC/tools/

 – When posting information to a 

 website, it may be easiest to 

 provide accessible materials in a 

 word processor-formatted

 document or in HTML. These 

 formats are more easily read by a 

 text-to-audio screen reader for 

 use by an individual with

 impaired vision. 

Tip: Consider using alt-tags for pictures, 

graphics, table and graphs.

Tip: To make websites more accessible, 

website designers may use the Electronic 

and Information Technology Accessibility 

Standards issued by the U.S. Access

Board and Web Content Accessibility 

Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) developed by the 

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. Web 

designers sometimes use web accessibility 

tools to make their jobs easier.

Providing an Accessible

Voting Experience

Accessibility of the Physical 

Environment (Polling Place)

 • Election officials should review the 

 ADA Checklist for Polling Places 

 (http://www.ada.gov/votingprt.pdf) 

 prepared by the U.S. Department of 

 Justice, Civil Rights Division, 

 Disability Rights Section.

 • Election officials should consider the 

 impact all of the following can have 

 on accessibility (See Quick Start Guide 

 and EMG chapter on “Polling Place and 

 Vote Center Management”):

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The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

10

 – Parking

 – Passenger Drop-Off Areas

 – Sidewalks and Walkways

 – Building Entrances

 – Hallways and Corridors

 – Voting Area

 – Ramps

 – Curbside Voting

 • Election officials should consider the 

 accessibility of alternate entrances 

 that voters may use to reach the 

 polling place.

Programmatic Accommodations

 • Look for inexpensive, tangible solutions, 

 such as providing a chair for individuals 

 who have difficulty standing in a line at 

 the polling place or posting voting 

 instructions in large print. 

 • Intangible accommodations might mean 

 providing assistance to a voter as he or 

 she completes the ballot, if requested. 

 • Acoustics

 –Loud environments can increase 

 the stress level for everyone, but it 

 is especially challenging for people 

 who are hard of hearing. In addition, 

 people who must depend on 

 hearing an audible ballot may need 

 the accessible voting system 

 placed in a quiet area. 

 • One polling place creatively addressed

 this by placing the voting system on an

 accessible stage that was isolated by 

 curtains.

 • The use of inexpensive portable 

 assistive listening devices 

 (approximately $120-$180) may help 
1The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

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 voters and poll workers with hearing 

 loss to understand speech in noisy

 situations. 

Tip: Simple solutions can reduce echo and 

audio reflection, such as cloth table covers, 

framing and draperies, rugs on the floor, etc.

Accessibility of Voting Systems

 • Most voting systems have some 

 accessibility. 

 • Poll workers should describe 

 accessible voting systems in a 

 manner that encourages people to use

 them. 

 • Persons with disabilities use a variety 

 of assistive technologies to address 

 vision, hearing, mobility, dexterity, 

 memory, reading and other functional

 limitations. These individuals are

 allowed to bring necessary assistive 

 technology (e.g., hearing aids, 

 neckloops, mobility aids, switches, 

 and magnifiers) into the polling location

 and are encouraged to use assistive

 technology to supplement the

 accessibility tools available as part of a

 voting system. 

Long-Term Care Facilities and 

Mobile Polling

 • Develop an outreach program targeted

 to nursing homes and long-term care

 facilities. (See Quick Start Guide on

 “Serving Voters in Long-Term Care 

 Facilities”)

 • Mobile polling involves election officials

 bringing ballots to convenient and 

 accessible locations, such as long-

 term care facilities, and skilled, non-

 partisan election workers providing 

 assistance to voters upon request and

 – where permitted – to register voters.
The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

Poll Workers

 • Recruitment

 – Recruit individuals with disabilities 

 to fill the job of poll worker. 

 Remember that the presence of a 

 poll worker with disabilities may 

 make voters with disabilities more 

 comfortable in the polling place 

 and more receptive to offers of 

 assistance. 

Example: In jurisdictions with a large deaf 

population, recruit poll workers who are 

trained in sign language.

 – Reach out to community groups

 that represent the disability 

 community.

 – Assign at least one poll worker in

 each polling place with 

 responsibility for assuring that all 

 available accessibility aids are 

 present in the polling place and 

 responding to voters and poll 

 workers with disabilities. 

 • Ideas for improving conditions for poll

 workers with disabilities

 – Split Shifts – Some poll workers 

 with disabilities would benefit

 from having this option. 

 – Do not forget about the 

 environmental sensitivities of

 the voters and poll workers.

 – Provide grip tools and magnifying 

 strips.

 – See the EAC’s Successful 

 Practices for Poll Worker 

 Recruitment, Training, and 

 Retention available at 

 http://www.eac.gov 

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1The Quick Start Management Guide on Accessibility

Tip: Ask poll workers to complete a 

questionnaire following every election to 

determine additional needs and to also 

provide ideas and solutions for addressing 

accessibility needs on Election Day.

Accessibility Resources

American Association of People with

Disabilities

http://www.aapd.com

American Bar Association Commission 

on Law and Aging Voting and Cognitive 

Impairments

http://new.abanet.org/aging/Pages/ 

voting.aspx

Disability and Business Technical 

Assistance Centers (DBTACs)

http://www.votingaccess.org/ 

The Election Center

http://www.electioncenter.org

National Federation for the Blind 

(Nonvisual Election Technology)

http://www.nfb.org/nfb/HAVA_intro.asp

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

http://vote.nist.gov

United States Access Board

http://www.access-board.gov

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

http://www.w3.org/WAI/

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For information regarding this publication or to 

request additional copies at no cost, please contact: 

Address 

U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 300 

Washington, DC 20005

Attn: Election Management Guidelines

Telephone

(202) 566-3100 

(866) 747-1471 (toll free)

Fax

(202) 566-3127

E-mail Address

HAVAinfo@eac.gov

Website

www.eac.gov

The EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by 

the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). It is charged with 

administering payments to states and developing guidance to 

meet HAVA requirements, implementing election administration 

improvements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, 

accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting 

equipment and serving as a national clearinghouse and resource 

of information regarding election administration.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION