CA: Disabilities organizations sue state, counties over voter access

State, Alameda County sued over voter access
By Chris Metinko
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/15174719.htm

Three disability groups filed suit Tuesday against the California secretary of state and five counties -- including Alameda -- claiming they did not meet federal law providing full accessibility to disabled voters.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, claims Alameda, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma and Yolo counties failed to comply with the Help America Vote Act. It seeks a court order requiring the secretary of state to present to the court a plan and a timetable for bringing the entire state into compliance.

The plaintiffs say Alameda County violated the act by having its touch-screen voting machines produce a paper receipt of votes, which is required under state law. The lawsuit says that requirement denies blind voters the ability to verify their vote since they cannot read the receipt.

Richard Winnie, Alameda County counsel, said he was disappointed by the filing of the lawsuit.

"We take the accessibility requirement very seriously, but we're dealing with limited technology," Winnie said. "We're bending over backwards and doing our best. I just don't think anyone can question our efforts to meet people's needs."

The lawsuit also claims the voting systems used in San Francisco, Marin and Sonoma violate the federal law because they are not fully accessibility to manually impaired voters, while Yolo County's system denies both visually and manually impaired voters the right to vote privately.

The lawsuit was filed by the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the California Council of the Blind and the American Association of People with Disabilities.