The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas have secured settlement agreements with Colorado County, Runnels County, Smith County, and Upton County. These settlements resolve findings that the counties violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by maintaining election websites that discriminate against individuals with vision or manual disabilities.
“Voting in the 21st century requires that officials make their websites accessible to people with disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Discriminatory barriers on election websites can prevent people with disabilities from exercising their right to vote. These agreements should send a message to state and local officials across the country about the importance of ensuring that their election websites are accessible for voters with disabilities so that they can participate equally in our democratic process.”
The election websites for these four Texas counties provide essential information about how to vote, including registration requirements, identification requirements, and voting information for people with disabilities. The websites also link to other critical information such as details about early voting and voting on election day.
Under the settlement agreements, the counties agreed to make all future and existing online election content accessible to people with disabilities. They will hire an independent auditor to evaluate accessibility, adopt new policies and training for relevant personnel, provide notice to website visitors soliciting comments and requests about any accessibility barriers, and designate an employee to coordinate these efforts.
These investigations are part of the department’s ADA Voting Initiative which safeguards the voting rights of individuals with disabilities. More information about the ADA and its application to voting is available at www.ada.gov/topics/voting/. These settlements are also part of the Civil Rights Division’s Tech Equity Initiative aimed at combating disability discrimination through technology such as websites and mobile apps.