The US Department of Justice (DOJ) found Tuesday that the state of Alaska violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide accessible voting facilities in the 2020 and 2022 elections.

Voters across Alaska reported that the accessible voting machines were inoperable on Election Day during the 2020 and 2022 elections – and poll workers were unable to make them operational. Absentee voting sites do not have accessible voting machines in the state of Alaska. The state’s website was also not accessible to voters with disabilities due to low color contrast and no captions on assistance videos.

Due to these violations, the DOJ found that Alaska discriminated against disabled voters by “failing to provide those with an aid or benefit equal access,” “failing to provide the State’s voting services in the most integrated setting possible,” “selecting voting sites or absentee voting sites that have the effect of excluding those with disabilities,” and “failing to make sure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as others”.

Title II of the ADA—which guarantees disabled people equal access to programs and services provided by state and local governments—considers election services and polling locations to be public entities under Federal law and therefore subject to regulation. Election communications and websites are also considered public entities.

The National Federation of the Blind has periodically surveyed blind voters from 2008 to the present, finding that nearly one-third of poll workers do not know how to operate accessible voting machines. In response, the organization created training videos to distribute to voters and poll workers.

The DOJ directed Alaska to remedy inaccessible web-based communication with voters and implement an accessible voting system for federal and state elections. The state must also remedy physical accessibility barriers at polling locations.