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Black Hawk precincts exceed national accessibility standards
By STACEY PALEVSKY, Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO --- While some Americans worry about hanging chads and provisional ballots, voters with disabilities have other concerns.
Will they be able to park close enough to the polling place or maneuver their wheelchair through the entrance?
In Black Hawk County, those concerns are minimal. Of the more than 60 precincts, only two do not meet stringent accessibility guidelines. And one, Jewett School in Evansdale, meets nearly all the criteria except for parking, said Kyle Jensson, county elections manager.
The same cannot be said across the United States. Nationally, about 80 percent of polling places are not fully accessible, according to the American Association of People with Disabilities.
The checklist for accessibility of polling sites, set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, is more than 30 pages long and details requirements for parking, passenger drop-offs, sidewalks, building entrances and hallways, Jensson said.
By the next election, those who cast ballots at Jewett School (Evansdale Wards 2 and 4) will be moved to a different, accessible building, Jensson said. That leaves just one precinct --- Waterloo's Apostolic Pentecostal Church (Ward 1, Precinct 4) --- that is not fully accessible.
Black Hawk County reduced the number of precincts from 83 to 64 in 1990 after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. That decision reduced the number of inaccessible sites. Over time, the board of elections also has eliminated polling sites that lack elevators.
"It's been on our front burner for quite awhile," Jensson said.
"When you talk about accessibility of voting, it's more than just the accessibility of a polling place," said Angela Katsakis, the disability vote project coordinator for the American Association for People with Disabilities. "It's about an accessible polling system where you can go independently, cast a vote without the assistance of a poll worker and get in and out as easily as someone who's able-bodied."
While absentee ballots are helpful, it's a second choice, Katsakis said. Absentee ballots only arrive in large print by request, and for someone who lacks fine motor skills, an absentee ballot isn't much help.
The emergence of electronic voting also should increase accessibility. The machines are portable, so the device can be lowered into the laps of wheelchair users. The machines can even go curbside for people who can't get out of their vehicle. However, only 14 counties in Iowa will use electronic voting machines on Tuesday.
Eric Donat is 24 years old, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. Tuesday will be his fourth election in Black Hawk County, and he said he's never had a problem voting and doesn't expect to this year.
Donat works for the Black Hawk Center for Independent Living, which encourages clients to vote by providing information from ID Action, an Iowa disability advocacy group. Still, Donat believes many of his clients will not vote Tuesday.
Donat said it's because they are either uninformed about politics or feel disconnected from local and national races --- just like other Americans who don't vote.
"For some, it's 'Why do I matter? How does it affect me?'" Donat said.
The disconnect develops in part because people with disabilities tend to feel politicians do not advocate for their causes, he said.
But the only way to change that, Katsakis said, is through the ballot box.
"When you think about empowerment and the independent living movement ... the most surefire way to make a choice in life is to hit the polling place and vote on Election Day," Katsakis said. "It comes down to having an attitude like Rosa Parks. Do you want to sit at the back of the bus, or do you want to drive it?"
Stacey Palevsky can be reached at (319) 291-1580 or stacey.palevsky@wcfcourier.com.
Will they be able to park close enough to the polling place or maneuver their wheelchair through the entrance?
In Black Hawk County, those concerns are minimal. Of the more than 60 precincts, only two do not meet stringent accessibility guidelines. And one, Jewett School in Evansdale, meets nearly all the criteria except for parking, said Kyle Jensson, county elections manager.
The same cannot be said across the United States. Nationally, about 80 percent of polling places are not fully accessible, according to the American Association of People with Disabilities.
The checklist for accessibility of polling sites, set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, is more than 30 pages long and details requirements for parking, passenger drop-offs, sidewalks, building entrances and hallways, Jensson said.
By the next election, those who cast ballots at Jewett School (Evansdale Wards 2 and 4) will be moved to a different, accessible building, Jensson said. That leaves just one precinct --- Waterloo's Apostolic Pentecostal Church (Ward 1, Precinct 4) --- that is not fully accessible.
Black Hawk County reduced the number of precincts from 83 to 64 in 1990 after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. That decision reduced the number of inaccessible sites. Over time, the board of elections also has eliminated polling sites that lack elevators.
"It's been on our front burner for quite awhile," Jensson said.
"When you talk about accessibility of voting, it's more than just the accessibility of a polling place," said Angela Katsakis, the disability vote project coordinator for the American Association for People with Disabilities. "It's about an accessible polling system where you can go independently, cast a vote without the assistance of a poll worker and get in and out as easily as someone who's able-bodied."
While absentee ballots are helpful, it's a second choice, Katsakis said. Absentee ballots only arrive in large print by request, and for someone who lacks fine motor skills, an absentee ballot isn't much help.
The emergence of electronic voting also should increase accessibility. The machines are portable, so the device can be lowered into the laps of wheelchair users. The machines can even go curbside for people who can't get out of their vehicle. However, only 14 counties in Iowa will use electronic voting machines on Tuesday.
Eric Donat is 24 years old, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. Tuesday will be his fourth election in Black Hawk County, and he said he's never had a problem voting and doesn't expect to this year.
Donat works for the Black Hawk Center for Independent Living, which encourages clients to vote by providing information from ID Action, an Iowa disability advocacy group. Still, Donat believes many of his clients will not vote Tuesday.
Donat said it's because they are either uninformed about politics or feel disconnected from local and national races --- just like other Americans who don't vote.
"For some, it's 'Why do I matter? How does it affect me?'" Donat said.
The disconnect develops in part because people with disabilities tend to feel politicians do not advocate for their causes, he said.
But the only way to change that, Katsakis said, is through the ballot box.
"When you think about empowerment and the independent living movement ... the most surefire way to make a choice in life is to hit the polling place and vote on Election Day," Katsakis said. "It comes down to having an attitude like Rosa Parks. Do you want to sit at the back of the bus, or do you want to drive it?"
Stacey Palevsky can be reached at (319) 291-1580 or stacey.palevsky@wcfcourier.com.
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