As the American election administration landscape changes as a result of major court cases, national and state legislation, changes in professionalism, and the evolution of equipment and security, so must the work of on-the-ground practitioners change. This Open Access title presents a series of case studies designed to highlight practical responses to these changes from the national, state, and local levels. This book is designed to be a companion piece to The Future of Election Administration, which surveys these critical dimensions of elections from the perspectives of the most forward-thinking practitioner, policy, advocacy, and research experts and leaders in these areas today. Drawing upon principles of professionalism and the practical work that is required to administer elections as part of the complex systems, this book lifts up the voices and experiences of practitioners from around the country to describe, analyze, and anticipate the key areas of election administration systems on which students, researchers, advocates, policy makers, and practitioners should focus. Together, these books add to the emerging body of literature that is part of the election sciences community with an emphasis on the practical aspects of administration.

Voting is fundamental to our democracy, and federal law generally requires polling places to be accessible to all eligible voters for federal elections, including voters with disabilities. However, during the 2000 federal election, GAO found that only 16 percent of polling places had no potential impediments to access for people with disabilities. To address these and other issues, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), which required each polling place to have an accessible voting system. We examined (1) the proportion of polling places during the 2008 federal election with features that might facilitate or impede access for voters with disabilities compared to our findings from 2000; (2) actions states are taking to facilitate voting access; and (3) steps the Department of Justice (Justice) has taken to enforce HAVA voting access provisions. GAO visited 730 randomly selected polling places across the country, representing polling places nationwide, on Election Day 2008. GAO also surveyed states and interviewed federal officials.

Fed. law generally requires polling places to be accessible to all eligible voters, incl. those with disabilities. In response, states and localities have implemented provisions and practices addressing the accessibility of polling places. However, during the 2000 fed. election, only 16% of polling places had no potential impediments to access for people with disabilities. Fed. law required polling places to have at least one voting system accessible for people with disabilities. This report determined: (1) the proportion of polling places that have features that might facilitate or impede access to voting for people with disabilities; and (2) the proportion of polling places that have features that might facilitate or impede private and independent voting for people with disabilities. Illus.

States and localities have not invested adequate resources, planning, or training to meet architectural and physical access compliance standards required to increase participation and improve the experience of voters with disabilities. The book documents the experiences of voters with disabilities during the 2012 general election cycle and offers concrete policy and procedural recommendations to improve voter participation and accessibility for citizens with disabilities now and in future elections.