Advocacy Center Lawsuit Alleges that a Significant Number of Polling Places in Jefferson Parish Exclude People with Disabilities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Orleans, LA, June 4, 2010 –
Denise Drake is a long-time resident of Jefferson Parish who uses a
wheelchair because of significant physical disabilities. Ms. Drake is
an active citizen, and votes regularly at her neighborhood polling
place. She contacted the Advocacy Center, a statewide nonprofit agency
that provides legal services to individuals with disabilities, because
the ramp at her polling place was dangerously steep and without
appropriate safety features.
Following Ms. Drake’s complaint, the Advocacy Center surveyed
sixty-nine polling places and found barriers to individuals with
mobility impairments at 78% of the surveyed sites.
Federal law provides that public entities like Jefferson Parish must
offer their programs, services, and activities—such as the opportunity
to vote privately in a neighborhood polling place—in a manner that does
not discriminate against persons with disabilities. When Jefferson
Parish fails to offer neighborhood polling places that are accessible
to Ms. Drake and others with mobility impairments, it has failed to
meet its obligations under the Americans with Disabilities.
On Friday, June 4, 2010, the Advocacy Center filed a federal
class-action lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Drake and other voters with
mobility impairments in Jefferson Parish. The lawsuit alleges that, as
a result of failure of election officials to comply with Federal
disability rights laws, Ms. Drake and others have been discriminated
against because they have mobility impairments, and have not been given
an equal opportunity to vote in the manner of their non-disabled
neighbors.
According to Susan Meyers, Managing Attorney at the Advocacy Center,
“Over fifteen years have passed since the enactment of the Americans
with Disabilities Act, and more than two decades since the enactment of
the Rehabilitation Act. These statutes are clear in their mandates for
the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in all areas of life.
Ms. Drake and others in Jefferson Parish should be able to exercise
their right to vote in the same manner as their neighbors. Access to
polling places and to the political process is a fundamental part of
citizenship in this country, and no one should be excluded from that
simply because she has a disability.”
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About the Advocacy Center
The Advocacy Center is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to
assisting people with disabilities and seniors in Louisiana to achieve
maximum potential and independence. The Advocacy Center employs 70
people statewide who assist people to achieve employment, education,
housing, and health care goals.
