People with Disabilities Make Their Voices Heard Over Voting Restrictions

Trent Sunahara June 29, 2021 Comments Off In The News

Voter access and voter rights have taken been in the news a lot this year. For people with disabilities, this has been a critical issue for decades.

In Texas, disABILITYsa, a group dedicated “to educate, advance and engage individuals with disabilities”, is now contending the State’s Senate Bill 7 and the roadblocks it puts up for people with disabilities to have equal access to vote.

The three biggest concerns for the disABILITYsa were the requirement to verify a voter’s disability to get a mail-in ballot, changes to curbside voting and possible criminal charges against caregivers or attendants often needed to assist a voter with disabilities.

To continue reading this story, please visit https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/06/25/disability-community-sends-message-to-texas-lawmakers-over-proposed-voting-restrictions/.

In North Carolina, previous legislative efforts have gone to the courts. Recently, North Carolina’s Eastern District Judge Terrence Boyle recently ordered the state’s Board of Elections to make a number of changes which include the preservation of absentee voting for blind and otherwise disabled voters.

The ruling poses new limitations, and possibly more ADA violation, though. For those wanting to cast absentee ballots, voters with disabilities are required to fill out a form and submit it to their local election board before receiving an absentee ballot.

While most voters without vision impairments were able to go about this process privately, visually impaired voters often required assistance, affecting their ability to privately cast a ballot.

To continue reading this story, please visit https://www.thetimesnews.com/story/news/2021/06/25/court-order-ensures-convenience-and-privacy-disabled-voters-blind-terrence-boyle-north-carolina/5333922001/.

Sources:
Court order secures new voting rights for North Carolina’s disabled voters
By Dean-Paul Stephens, Times-News
Published June 25, 2021
https://www.thetimesnews.com/story/news/2021/06/25/court-order-ensures-convenience-and-privacy-disabled-voters-blind-terrence-boyle-north-carolina/5333922001/

Disability community sends message to Texas lawmakers over proposed voting restrictions
By Jessie Degollado, KSAT 12 San Antonio
Published June 24, 2021
https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/06/25/disability-community-sends-message-to-texas-lawmakers-over-proposed-voting-restrictions/

Accessible Parks Take Priority as Summer Months Approach

Trent Sunahara April 22, 2021 Comments Off In The News

Photo by Roger Nomer; published in The Joplin Globe

As the summer months approach, upgrading local parks to make them ADA compliant and accessible to children of all ability levels has become a big priority for many municipalities.

Carson City, Nevada, recently made significant ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) improvements to several of its parks. Over the past five years, Carson City’s Schulz Ranch, Ross Gold, Ronald D. Wilson Memorial, and John Mankins parks were inspected, funded and underwent remediation to get the parks into compliance with the ADA.

While 13 of the City’s playgrounds still use wood mulch for fall protection, City staff have inspected the sites and integrated them into a long-term ADA remediation plan.

In the City of Joplin, Missouri, an ADA accessible park is currently being built with features designed for all ability levels.

The new playground at Landreth Park is a first of its kind for the city. When complete, it will feature inclusive play structures, ground games, and access ramps that completely encircle the playground, allowing children of various abilities to access it at any point.

Sources:
Carson City parks panel plots course for playground priorities
Jessica Garcia, Nevada Appeal
April 18, 2021
https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2021/apr/18/carson-city-parks-panel-plots-course-playground-pr/

New playground first of its kind in Joplin
Debby Woodin, The Joplin Globe
April 17, 2021
https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/new-playground-first-of-its-kind-in-joplin/article_868a6a68-9e0e-11eb-a0f2-efdb8a542d8f.html#//

DOJ Joins ADA Lawsuit Over Chicago’s Non-Compliant Crosswalks

Trent Sunahara April 15, 2021 Comments Off In The News

City of Chicago crosswalk is not ADA compliant.

The Justice Department has joined a lawsuit against the City of Chicago that alleges the City has not made the majority of its crosswalks accessible to people who are blind, deaf-blind, or have low vision.

The DOJ states the City is required to install accessible pedestrian signals that give audio or tactile cues when it’s safe to cross the street in order to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. According to the DOJ, the City of Chicago has just 15 of those signals out of 2,700 crosswalks with visual signals.

Continue reading this story at https://news.wttw.com/2021/04/13/justice-department-joins-lawsuit-over-accessibility-chicago-crosswalks.

This story was originally written and produced by Nick Blumberg and WTTW Public Broadcasting.

BlueDAG University – Using Fast Finder

Nick Wehr March 24, 2021 Comments Off BlueDAG Inspection, BlueDAG University, In The News

In this video, Victor Felix, BlueDAG’s Director of Content and Compliance, teaches viewers how to use BlueDAG’s Fast Finder tool.

BlueDAG is now offering Fast Finder for free to anyone who wants it.

Disabled People Had An Easier Time Voting In 2020, But Millions Still Had Issues

Trent Sunahara March 4, 2021 Comments Off In The News

Two major obstacles disabled people face while voting in person are waiting in lines and accessing voting sites. (File photo from Nov. 8, 1988, Denver, Colorado)

BETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES — Two major obstacles disabled people face while voting in person are waiting in lines and accessing voting sites.

Disabled Americans had less trouble voting in the 2020 elections than in prior years, according to research published last week by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

The EAC report shows that the gap between disabled and nondisabled voters who experienced problems while voting has narrowed significantly. In 2020, 11.4% disabled voters reported having problems versus 6.4% of nondisabled voters. This drop is noteworthy in comparison to a similar report conducted in 2012 that found that 26.1% of disabled voters versus 7.4% of nondisabled voters reported having trouble.

This means one in nine disabled respondents said they had trouble voting in 2020, according to the report.

Continue reading at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/disabled-people-had-easier-time-voting-in-2020-but-millions-still-had-issues-report_n_6034102dc5b67c32961fc93f.

This story was written by Elyse Wanshel and published in The Huffington Post on February 22, 2021.

ADA Suit Over Chicago Shelters Moves Forward

Trent Sunahara February 19, 2021 Comments Off In The News

U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois

The City of Chicago can’t evade a disability-discrimination suit brought by a woman who alleges emergency shelters are not accessible, a federal judge held Wednesday (February 17, 2021). In a written opinion, U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama declined to throw out Gloria Carter’s lawsuit accusing the City of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. The City operates an emergency shelter program for people facing homelessness.

The full story can be read at https://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/suit-over-emergency-shelter-program-gets-ok-20210218.

A copy of the official opinion and order from Judge Valderrama regarding Carter v. City of Chicago can be found at https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/illinois/ilndce/1:2020cv01083/373622/46/.

This story was written by Patricia Manson and published in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

BlueDAG University – Creating a Custom Finding

Trent Sunahara February 18, 2021 Comments Off BlueDAG Administrative, BlueDAG University

In this video, Victor Felix, BlueDAG’s Director of Content and Compliance, teaches viewers how to create a custom finding in the BlueDAG desktop application.

ADA 101 – Changes in Level – Beveled

Nick Wehr December 4, 2020 Comments Off ADA 101

ADA 101 info graphic with ADAS 2010 section 303.3 text and example pictures ADAS 2010 303.3 Changes in Level – Beveled

Changes in level between 1/4 inch high minimum and 1/2 inch high maximum shall be beveled with a slope not steeper than 1:2.

Advisory 303.3 Beveled. A change in level of 1/2 inch is permitted to be 1/4 inch vertical plus 1/4 inch beveled. However, in no case may the combined change in level exceed 1/2 inch. Changes in level exceeding 1/2 inch must comply with 405 (Ramps) or 406 (Curb Ramps).

Citation according to 2010 ADAS. Check your state’s accessibility laws. Some states such as California, Georgia and Florida have additional requirements and standards.

New Research Shows Many Local Governments May Lack Strong ADA Title II Transition Plans

Nick Wehr September 18, 2020 Comments Off In The News

Three people inspecting a curb ramp at a street intersection

A recent study conducted by the Great Lakes ADA Regional Center, and funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, indicated some local government’s ADA Title II Transition Plans may be lacking.

Researchers used a sample of 401 cities, counties or townships with at least 50 full-time employees. The researchers carefully reviewed each plan to identify which of the required elements were included.

What researchers found was surprising given the Americans with Disability Act just entered its third decade as a legal requirement:

54 of the 401 municipalities (13%) had an ADA transition plan available to the public.
28 municipalities (7%) reported having plans in progress.
32 published the transition plan on their websites while 22 others made it available upon request.
By region, the highest percentage (17%) of municipalities with transition plans are located in the Midwest.
The northeast region had the lowest percentage of municipalities with transition plans (3%).
Of the 54 municipalities with transition plans, only 40 addressed the public right-of-way.
14 plans only addressed access to government buildings.
Of the 40 plans that addressed the public right-of-way, only 7 met all of the minimum criteria required by the ADA.
Less than half of the plans included a specific schedule for barrier removal.
Only 12 transition plans included a detailed process for monitoring and periodic reporting on progress toward barrier removal.

Please visit the National Rehabilitation Information Center’s website for more information on this and other ADA related studies.

BlueDAG Mobile Application Update for Android Users

Trent Sunahara September 9, 2020 Comments Off BlueDAG Update

Today, BlueDAG has moved its Android mobile application update into an early release phase. With the update, Android users will see a new interface that offers refined functionality. In addition, the updated application better manages photographs in local storage. Watch the video for a complete overview of BlueDAG’s Android mobile application update. If you would like to be a part of the early release testing group, please contact us at bluedag.support@bluedag.com.

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Tag: ADA