Holding federal elections in the United States is a massive enterprise, administered primarily at the local level. On Election Day, millions of voters visit polling places across the country, which are located in schools, recreation centers, churches, various government buildings, and even private homes. For the 2000 election, counties and other local jurisdictions deployed about 1.4 million poll workers and more than 700,000 voting machines to polling places across the country.Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia also play a role in elections, by establishing election laws and policies and providing oversight in their respective states. The federal government’s role in the administration of elections is fairly limited. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is generally responsible for regulating the financing of elections, serving as a clearinghouse for information on elections, and providing advice and assistance to state and local election administrators. While federal elections are generally conducted under state laws and policies, a few federal laws apply to voting and some provisions specifically address accessibility issues for voters with disabilities. Most notably, the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (VAEHA), enacted in 1984, requires that political subdivisions responsible for conducting elections assure that all polling places for federal elections are accessible to elderly voters and voters with disabilities. Two exceptions are allowed: (1) in the case of an emergency as determined by the chief election officer of the state, and (2) when the chief election officer of the state determines that all potential polling places have been surveyed and no such accessible place is available, nor is the political subdivision able to make one temporarily accessible in the area involved. Any elderly voter or voter with a disability assigned to an inaccessible polling place, upon his or her advance request, must be assigned to an accessible polling place or be provided with an alternative means for casting a ballot on the day of the election. Under the VAEHA, the definition of “accessible” is determined under guidelines established by the state’s chief election officer, but the law does not specify what those guidelines shall contain or the form those guidelines should take. The VAEHA also contains provisions to make absentee voting more accessible and provides for voting aids at polling places. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) also applies to voting. Title II of the ADA and implementing regulations require that people with disabilities have access to basic public services, including the right to vote; however, it does not strictly require that all polling place sites be accessible. Under the ADA, public entities must make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to avoid discrimination against people with disabilities. Moreover, no individual with a disability may, by reason of the disability, be excluded from participating in or be denied the benefits of any public program, service, or activity. State and local governments may comply with ADA accessibility requirements in a variety of ways, such as by redesigning equipment, reassigning services to accessible buildings or alternative accessible sites, or altering existing facilities or constructing new ones. However, state and local governments are not required to take actions that would threaten or destroy the historic significance of an historic property, fundamentally alter the nature of a service, or impose undue financial and administrative burdens. Moreover, a public entity is not required to make structural changes in existing facilities where other methods are effective in achieving compliance. In choosing between available methods of complying with the ADA, state and local governments must give priority to the choices that offer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate. Title III of the ADA covers commercial facilities and places of “public accommodation” such as restaurants, private schools, and privately operated recreation centers.Such facilities may also be used as polling places. Under Title III, public accommodations must make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to facilitate access for individuals with disabilities. They are also required to remove physical barriers in existing buildings when it is “readily achievable” to do so, that is, when it can be done without much difficulty and expense, given the public accommodation’s resources. In the event that removal of an architectural barrier cannot be accomplished easily, the accommodation may take alternative measures to facilitate accessibility. All buildings newly constructed by public accommodations and commercial facilities must be readily accessible; alterations to existing buildings are required to the maximum extent feasible to be readily accessible to individuals with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs. Finally, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) provides that any voter requiring assistance to vote “by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voter’s choice….” Although these federal laws support the right to vote for persons with disabilities, concerns continue to be expressed about voting opportunities for people with disabilities. One recent study reported that people with disabilities were about 15 percent less likely to vote than those without disabilities—even after controlling for demographic and other factors related to voting—and suggested that voting behavior of people with disabilities is affected by access to polling places.According to a recent analysis of Census data, nearly 1 out of 5 Americans has some type of disability, and more than 1 in 10 has a severe disability. For Americans 65 and over, 54.5 percent have a disability and 37.7 percent have a severe disability. Such concerns about voting opportunities have prompted action on the part of policymakers and other interested parties. For example, members of the Congress recently proposed several amendments to the VAEHA that were intended to improve voting access. In addition, the Election Center’s National Task Force on Accessible Elections, composed of state and local election officials and representatives of disability organizations, met in 1999 and issued a guidebook to assist local election officials in improving voting access. Furthermore, following reports that elderly voters were unable to decipher ballots and that voting equipment created overcounts and undercounts in the 2000 election, members of the Congress and other policymakers have proposed a number of election reforms, including provisions for further improving voting access for people with disabilities. Finally, the FEC has been working toward incorporating accessibility standards for electronic voting equipment into the update of its 1990 voluntary standards for computer-based voting equipment. In addition, the IEEE-SA Standards Board has recently approved a project to develop a standard by which electronic voting equipment may be evaluated for, among other things, accessibility. Considerable variation exists in how states and counties attempt to meet the needs of voters with disabilities, both at polling places and through alternative methods of voting. Consistent with the VAEHA, all states and the District of Columbia have established provisions that address voting accessibility at polling places. However, state provisions vary in a number of ways, including whether these provisions take the form of statute or regulation, which carry the force and effect of law, or whether they exist only in policy. Similarly, states and counties vary in how they select, inspect, and modify polling places to assure their accessibility. Finally, if some polling places are not or cannot be made readily accessible, all states have provisions for voters with disabilities to vote absentee either on or before Election Day. Many but not all states also have provisions for other alternative voting methods or accommodations to facilitate voting by people with disabilities on or before Election Day. All states have laws and other provisions concerning voting access for people with disabilities, including their access to polling places, but the extent and manner in which these provisions promote accessibility vary from state to state. This variation is consistent with the VAEHA, which requires that states establish guidelines but does not prescribe what those guidelines should contain. We found that state provisions vary in several ways, including the type or nature of the voting access provision and whether they exist in statutes or regulations—which carry the force and effect of law—or in policy documents. For example, table 1 shows that 36 states have a statute or regulation stating that all polling places should be accessible, 7 states have a policy that requires or suggests that all polling places be accessible, and 8 states have no such provisions. Similarly, while some states have statutes or regulations covering Braille or large-type ballots or magnifiers for visually impaired voters, the majority of states have no such provisions. Overall, we found that some states have numerous provisions addressing voting and polling place accessibility, while some states have very few. (See app. IV, tables 9 and 10, for a detailed listing of each state’s provisions.) Even when states have similar types of provisions, the extent to which the provisions promote access varies considerably. For example, while some states’ statutes recommend that all polling places be accessible, other states require it without exception. In addition, some provisions are more explicit or exacting in promoting access than others. For example, according to one state’s statutes, all voting systems acquired on or after September 1, 1999, must comply with Title II of the ADA and must provide a practical and effective means for voters with most types of physical disabilities to cast a secret ballot. In contrast, another state’s regulations require a large-handled stylus for punching the ballot. Consistent with the VAEHA, we found that primary responsibility for assuring accessibility of polling places, through selecting, inspecting, and/or modifying polling places or voting systems, typically rests with counties or local governments. Although there are many similarities in how counties carry out their responsibilities, there are also some key differences in their approach and level of effort for assuring polling place accessibility. For example, although counties and local governments are generally responsible for selecting polling places, we estimate from our county survey that, in at least 27 percent of all counties, accessibility to people with disabilities is not cited among the criteria used in the selection process. Additionally, while all polling places in at least 68 percent of all counties are inspected by county or local governments to determine if they meet voting accessibility policies, the frequency of these inspections varies widely. Some polling places may be inspected as frequently as once a year, while others may only be inspected upon selection or after a complaint or remodeling. Moreover, in a few counties, polling places conduct their own inspections.