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Press Release

Fauquier County Agrees to Resolve ADA Review of Polling Locations

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

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Fauquier County has agreed to resolve an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance review of its polling locations to ensure that 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 Fauquier County can vote at the polling place near their home and alongside their neighbors and friends.”

 

As part of a nation-wide Department of Justice voting rights initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office conducted an ADA compliance review of Fauquier County’s polling locations. The review revealed that many polling places in Fauquier County have architectural barriers that make them inaccessible to voters who use wheelchairs or have mobility impairments.

 

Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Fauquier County will make temporary and permanent changes to its polling places to make the locations accessible to voters who use wheelchairs or have mobility impairments. Fauquier County also has the option of relocating these polling locations to alternate accessible locations. Going forward, the county will only select new polling place locations that are accessible on election day. The county 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 Steven Gordon, who is the Civil Rights Enforcement Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

 

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. 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 may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.

Updated February 14, 2017

Topic
Civil Rights