San Francisco Department of Elections Works to Increase Accessibility to the Voting Process for all Voters

by Charles MacNulty, Voter Outreach and Education Services Manager, Department of Elections, City and County of San Francisco, CA

Guided by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), the San Francisco Department of Elections has worked to increase accessibility for all voters, including those with disabilities. In spite of challenges, the Department has improved accessibility of polling places and to the voting equipment with which voters cast their ballot.

The Department has also developed strong relationships with local organizations that serve people with disabilities. These relationships have assisted the Department to better understand the needs of voters with disabilities, and helped to establish better polling place accessibility guidelines, improve poll worker sensitivity training, and develop universal and alternative format voter materials.

100% Accessibility Project (Polling Place Accessibility)

In 2003, the Department launched the 100% Accessibility Project, which sought to address the accessibility of San Francisco’s polling places. The goal of the project was to ensure that each polling place was functionally accessible. In order to document physical accessibility, the Department surveyed all of San Francisco’s 561 polling places using guidelines established in consultation with the California Secretary of State, the Mayor’s Office on Disability, and the Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee.

The Department has made great improvements to the accessibility of San Francisco’s polling places. In March 2004, 62% of the City’s polling places were accessible. Since then, the Department has increased that number to 96%. However, ADA-compliant poll locations cannot always be found, and the Department has faced many challenges in meeting accessibility requirements.

Major accessibility issues include terrain, architectural barriers, locked gates at otherwise accessible entrances, maneuverable ramps and thresholds, and other path-of-travel issues.
San Francisco’s topography also poses unique challenges. In areas with specific geographic demands for voters with disabilities (i.e., hills, slopes, etc.), it is often difficult to locate an accessible polling location within precinct boundaries.

The Department makes every effort to recruit accessible polling places that comply with ADA requirements. The Department will first try to locate a polling place in a public building within the precinct, including facilities owned or operated by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, San Francisco Unified School District, San Francisco Housing Authority, or San Francisco Public Library. If an accessible polling place cannot be located in a public facility, the Department will send poll locators to go door-to-door contacting businesses, community centers, and residences in order to locate an accessible polling place.

If an accessible polling place cannot be located within the precinct, or if a property owner of an accessible location will not allow use of the facility, an inaccessible polling place must be used. In these instances, voters are given information directing them to the nearest accessible polling place.

In those precincts where it is difficult or even impossible to locate an accessible polling place, the Department documents the special circumstances that require the use of an inaccessible location. After the election, the Department will revisit those precincts to again attempt to locate an accessible, long-term replacement.

Accessible Voting System Implementation

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 required by 2006 that every polling place have an accessible voting machine that provides access to persons with disabilities, including those with sight and mobility impairments. HAVA also requires accessible voting systems to meet language requirements set forth by the Voting Rights Act, which, for San Francisco, includes Spanish and Chinese (both Cantonese and Mandarin for audio voting).

In March 2005, the Department issued a request for proposals for the purchase of a new accessible voting system. Two qualified vendors, Election Systems & Software (ES&S) and Sequoia Voting Systems, submitted proposals to the Department. After a detailed review of each proposal, a two-week public pilot program, and interviews with each vendor, the Department of Elections awarded Sequoia Voting Systems the privilege to negotiate a contract for a new voting system with the City and County of San Francisco.

The Department and Sequoia concluded contract negotiations for the implementation of a new voting system in time for the June 6, 2006 Primary. However, because the system had not yet received certification from the Secretary of State’s Office for ranked-choice voting, which San Francisco voters use to elect local officials, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors halted contract approval. As a result, the Department extended the existing contract with ES&S.

To meet HAVA accessibility requirements, the Department purchased ES&S’s AutoMARK. The AutoMARK provided multiple ways for voters to mark a paper ballot, including a touchscreen, an audio function and the option for voters to use their own personal assistive device. The AutoMARK only marked ballots; it did not count votes. Though the AutoMARK was certified for use in California and met HAVA accessibility requirements, it was not certified for use with San Francisco’s existing voting system. Therefore, ballots marked using the AutoMARK were tallied separately at City Hall after Election Day.

In December 2007, the Board of Supervisors approved the contract with Sequoia Voting Systems and the Department purchased a new voting system. To meet voting accessibility requirements, each polling place has one Edge accessible touchscreen voting machine to assist voters in voting independently and privately. The machine allows voters to make ballot selections using a touchscreen and review their selections on a paper record before casting their vote. The accessible voting machine also provides an audio ballot and the option for voters to use their own personal assistive device. The accessible voting machine was used for the February and June Primary Elections and will again be used for the November General Election.

Community Outreach, Poll Worker Training and Alternative Format Materials

The Department of Elections has established an effective community outreach program targeting organizations and groups that serve the disability community. Since June 2006, the Department has organized demonstrations of the accessible voting equipment in order to help voters understand the functionality of the equipment. The Department has worked with numerous organizations, including the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the ARC of San Francisco, the Independent Living Resource Center, the California Council for the Blind, and the Golden Gate Regional Center.

The Department has also used other methods to educate voters with disabilities about Department services. In January 2004, the Department, in collaboration with the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, mailed a large-print and alternative format newsletter to LightHouse members about the availability of accessible voting equipment on Election Day, as well as voter services provided by the Department to persons with disabilities.

Since 2005, in order to better educate poll workers, the Department uses materials developed by the Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco for the poll worker training manual and class curriculum. Poll workers are trained to address accessibility in three areas: polling place layout, materials, and service.

The Department has also worked to develop alternative format materials for voters. Polling places are provided with large-print and Braille voter information and instructions. Beginning with the November General Election, the Department will produce a large-print version of the Voter Information Pamphlet; this is in addition to the audiocassette version the Department has produced in collaboration with the San Francisco Library for the Blind and Print Disabled since 2002.

For the last six years, the Department of Elections has worked diligently to improve accessibility to the voting process. In July 2006, the Department received an Award for Excellence from the Mayor’s Disability Council “for exceptional efforts to improve access to the polls for people with disabilities.” Although the Department is proud of the achievements made so far in increasing accessibility for persons with disabilities, opportunities exist for further improvement. The Department looks forward to meeting these challenges and providing an even higher standard of service and accessibility in the future. The Department also looks forward to continuing and building upon its partnerships with organizations that serve the disability community.