Passed in 1970, The Americans with Disabilities Act established sweeping standards of accessibility for all citizens, including for voting access.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, has a set of design guidelines for how voting centers should be picked or altered to be accessible to everyone. These rules range from providing temporary disabled parking spots to the allowance of service animals or aides to assist people with voting.
Every polling location is different and comes with its own accessibility considerations.
Maggie Sims, a project manager with the Rocky Mountain ADA Center, urges voters to reach out to the organization with any questions or concerns about casting their ballot.
“We absolutely encourage voters in Montana to give us a call if they need to for some direction on what the law says and what they can expect and what they are able to ask for, you know, if a place is not accessible or is accessible, to understand what their rights are,” Simms says.
Voters can contact Rocky Mountain ADA at 800-949-4231, or at https://rockymountainada.org. For those who are deaf or hard of hearing, a video phone is also available at 719-358-2460.