Page 16 - Desert Oracle September 2020

Cochise County Elections Fails Voters with

Disabilities by Prohibiting Curbside Voting

ACDL recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court under the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section
504), and the Arizona Civil Rights Act against Cochise County for denying

Kathleen Hoffard, a voter with disabilities, the right to vote curbside in the
November 2018 election, and upcoming November 2020 election. A copy of
the First Amended Complaint is here.

As part of its federal mandate, ACDL works to ensure that Arizonans with

disabilities have equal access to participation in the electoral process.

Ms. Hoffard, who is a resident and registered voter in Cochise County,

was denied the ability to vote curbside on Election Day in 2018, due to her
physical disabilities that make it difficult for her to walk and safely navigate a
polling location. When she requested to vote curbside, Cochise County
officials stated curbside voting was no longer offered anywhere in the County
and that all the vote centers in the County were 100% ADA accessible.

In previous elections, Ms. Hoffard had participated in curbside voting due to her
disabilities and plans to participate in in-person voting in the 2020 General

Election.

The risks from the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impact people with
disabilities. As the November General Election draws near, and in the face of
continued threats to public health from the COVID-19, it is more important than

ever that local governments comply with the law and provide voters with
disabilities the reasonable modifications that are necessary to ensure equal
access to the ballot, including to in-person voting.

Providing access for people with disabilities to vote merely at some time and in
some way is not sufficient under the law; jurisdictions may not afford people
with disabilities services that are not equal to those afforded others under the
law. This means that reasonable modifications, such as curbside voting, must

be provided where necessary to allow voters with disabilities the same
opportunity to vote in person as other voters.