The problem might arise when precincts are located in private buildings, which don’t have to allow public bathroom access, or in churches and other religious facilities, which are exempt from federal law requiring accessible restrooms for people with disabilities. Elections administrators have long relied on those locations to set up Miami-Dade’s more than 500 polling places.
Two years ago, the nonprofit Center for Independent Living of South Florida asked the department run by Elections Supervisor Penelope Townsley, who is appointed by Mayor Carlos Gimenez, about its plans for giving the disabled access to the polls. Marc Dubin, the center’s director, said he hoped the county would try to find new voting sites to replace polling places without accessible restrooms, or that it would pay for portable toilets outside those locations.
Instead, the elections department told him that it would prohibit all voters from using restrooms. If no voters could go to the bathroom, the county argued, then it could not be accused of discriminating against only the disabled ones. “This is the most bizarre response I’ve ever gotten, that we’re going to shut down access for everyone so as not to discriminate,” Dubin said.
Not only does Dubin counter that the county’s contention is incorrect — even if no voters are allowed to use the restroom, federal law requires modifications to be made for the disabled, he said — but he also accuses Miami-Dade of trying to keep voters from the polls.
“This is a very clear way to suppress the vote,” he said. “Telling people, ‘We have 12-hour lines but you can’t go to the bathroom?’ You can be guaranteed that people won’t come out to vote.” More at the Miami Herald.
Florida has absentee ballot on demand. You only have to go to the polls and stand in line, or “hold it” in line if you will, if you want to do so. The ballot can be mailed to you. You can also avoid lines by requesting an absentee ballot in person and handing the ballot back across the counter. Florida also has assisted voting services for the disabled that live in group homes, etc. Miami-Dade County government has several attorneys working in house that are experienced in election law and how those laws intersect with the elderly and disabled. There must be another side to this story. Too bad it wasnt fully shared in the article.