‘Promises, promises’

From the Associated Press:

A report from the Government Accountability Office has found that nearly one-third of the nation’s polling places failed to provide access to voters in wheelchairs in last November’s election.

The study found that 23 percent denied privacy to voters with disabilities, and 73 percent of polling places had physical features that could impede access to people with disabilities. Hundreds of millions of federal dollars have been given to states to make polling places more accessible since the 2002 passage of the Help America Vote Act.

“We are a far cry from where we need to be,” said Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, who requested the report. He said in a statement he would work with the Justice Department, which has jurisdiction to enforce federal election laws, to seek improvements.

… The issue is expected to take on greater prominence as baby boomers age and become less mobile. In last year’s election, about 16 percent of voters were 65 and older. By 2040, it is anticipated that 40 percent of all voters will be at least 65.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 10:26 am and is filed under accessibility, NOT2BEMISSED, voting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.