Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act

  • The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 generally requires polling places across the United States to be physically accessible to people with disabilities for federal elections.

  • Where no accessible location is available to serve as a polling place, a political subdivision must provide an alternate means of casting a ballot on the day of the election.

  • This law also requires states to make available registration and voting aids for disabled and elderly voters, including information by telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs) which are also known as teletypewriters (TTYs).

  • Effective September 15, 2015:  A polling official may allow a voter who is physically disabled or over the age of 70 to move to the front of the line at a polling place upon request of the voter.

Polling Site Accessibility- ADA Checklist for Polling Places. An evaluation of polling place accessibility should focus on those areas of a facility that are important to voting. These often include parking for voters, a drop off or loading area, the entrance to the polling place, and the pedestrian routes (interior and exterior) that voters use to get to the voter check-in and voting areas.

Voter Registration: Visit the Alabama Secretary of State’s website for more information on voter registration.