Public Advocate Praises Assemblyman Reed Gusciora’s Voter Accessibility Bill A-1930

Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen praised Assemblymen Reed Gusciora and Gary Schaer and Assemblywomen Elease Evans and Linda Greenstein today for sponsoring a bill (A-1930) that would require poll workers to be trained in voter accessibility requirements in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.  

Public Advocate Chen also praised all the Assembly members who voted to approve the legislation on June 16, 2007.  He expressed his hope that the bill will be swiftly passed by the Senate when it returns from summer recess, and then signed by the Governor in time for November’s presidential elections.

View Assembly Bill A-1930 

(Requires poll workers to have certain training in the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990")

Chen stressed the importance poll workers can play in detecting and remedying violations of accessibility laws.

“By giving poll workers the knowledge necessary to determine whether a polling place is accessible and how it can be made accessible, this legislation represents an important step toward achieving the objective we share with state election officials of full compliance with the accessibility laws,” Chen said.

Voting rights have been a priority issue for the Department; two Public Advocate reports issued last year have shown that polling places frequently fall short of state and federal accessibility mandates. The federal government passed universal poll accessibility laws 14 years ago and reaffirmed them in 2002 with the passage of the Help America Vote Act.

The first report issued in April 2007, showed that 450 of the 1120 polling places inspected between 2004 and 2006 had physical barriers that made it difficult for senior citizens and people with disabilities to vote privately and independently.

A second report, issued in September 2007, showed that there had not been meaningful improvements in polling place accessibility around the State.

Read the Reports:

·      State of Denial: Report on Accessibility Inspections of New Jersey Polling Places, September 2007

·      Access Denied: Protecting the Voting Rights of Senior Citizens and People with Disabilities, April 2007

During the June 3 primary, Chen, joined by Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells and other state officials, conducted inspections of five polling places in Union and Essex Counties to monitor ongoing compliance with the accessibility laws.  After those inspections, Chen praised Secretary Wells, expressing his gratitude that “the Secretary of State has made polling place accessibility a priority since she took over the state Division of Elections.”

In addition to polling place accessibility, the Department of the Public Advocate continues to pursue a broader voting rights agenda including advocating for reliable, usable, secure, and cost-efficient voting machines; assisting citizens who are wrongly turned away from the polls on Election Day; and ensuring meaningful opportunities for all eligible voters to register and cast ballots.

Click here for more information on DPA voting rights activities.

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