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Press Release

City of Chesapeake Agrees to Resolve ADA Review of Polling Locations

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. – The City of Chesapeake has agreed to resolve an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance review of its polling locations to ensure its polling locations comply with the ADA.

“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Under this agreement, voters with disabilities in the City of Chesapeake can rest assured they can cast their ballots at polling places near their homes, alongside their neighbors.”

Title II of the ADA prohibits public entities from discriminating against people with disabilities in their programs, services and activities. With respect to polling places, public entities are required to select and use polling places that are accessible. As part of a nation-wide Department of Justice voting rights initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office conducted an ADA compliance review of the City of Chesapeake’s polling locations. The review revealed that many polling places in the City of Chesapeake have architectural barriers that make them inaccessible to voters who use wheelchairs or have mobility impairments.

Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the City of Chesapeake will make temporary and permanent changes to its polling places to make the locations accessible to voters who use wheelchairs or have mobility impairments. The City also has the option of relocating these polling locations to alternate accessible locations or, if relocation to an accessible polling place cannot be achieved under applicable law and regulations, otherwise complying with title II’s program accessibility requirements. The City will also provide training to poll workers and file reports with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on its compliance.

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare Wuerker.

To learn more about ADA requirements for polling place accessibility or about the ADA and other laws protecting the rights of voters with disabilities, visit www.ada.gov/ta-pubs-pg2.htm. For more information on the ADA and to access this publication, visit http://www.ada.gov or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Contact

Joshua Stueve
Director of Communications
joshua.stueve@usdoj.gov

Updated May 9, 2017

Topic
Civil Rights