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Canyon County continues to struggle with ADA compliance
Idaho Press-Tribune - 5/27/2018
CALDWELL — Despite recent improvements to disability access at local polling locations, Canyon County still has a long way to go before the general election in November.
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice found that only four of 25 Canyon County polling locations surveyed were fully accessible to voters with physical and visual disabilities. As Canyon County continues negotiations with the DOJ on the issue, election officials have widely implemented curbside voting as a workaround during previous elections and the May 15 primary.
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto said several volunteers reported DOJ observers at their polling location on Election Day. Christine England, assistant U.S. attorney at the District of Idaho office in Boise, said they could not provide comment on an open investigation.
In January, the Canyon County board of commissioners approved a $45,600 contract with Meeting the Challenge to help county elections staff bring their polling locations into accessibility compliance.
Meeting the Challenge’s pre-Election Day review found that 26 of the 45 Canyon County polling locations they visited had accessibility issues that were “irreparable,” according to elections staff.
“I don’t know a clerk in the state of Idaho that is averse to providing ADA accommodations,” Yamamoto said. “But there is a cost involved, and common sense has to come in.”
For now, that means scouting for new polling locations and focusing on the smaller, less expensive fixes to polling sites.
But with an inability to repair crucial polling locations and a lack of satisfactory replacement sites with willing owners, Yamamoto said it would take a “magic wand” to make all the changes requested by the DOJ and recommended by Meeting the Challenge. A large portion of Canyon County’s polling locations are churches, which are exempt from ADA requirements. Some precincts have very few — if any — churches, schools or businesses that could be used on Election Day, Yamamoto said, and parking issues make it difficult to use private residences.
“We are probably going to have to double up in places because I don’t know where we’re going to go,” he said.
On Election Day, the Idaho Press-Tribune visited several polling locations with Yamamoto.
Even small issues — easily overlooked by people without disabilities — can cause problems and fail accessibility standards. Meeting The Challenge flagged the O’Connor Field House, a large Caldwell polling location, as irreparable because of a slope in the parking lot that could make navigating a wheelchair to the entrance difficult. Similarly, the sidewalk to the entrance of Sacajawea Elementary School in Caldwell was ruled too steep to navigate a wheelchair.
Staff and volunteers from DisAbility Rights Idaho conducted their own review of Canyon County polling locations on May 15. Dina Flores-Brewer, the organization’s advocacy director and attorney, said the county had made significant improvements since 2016.
“Canyon County definitely used a lot of the temporary fixes to make sure accessibility requirements were followed,” Flores-Brewer said.
However, she said initial reports from her team indicated some Canyon County polling locations still had issues with parking and voting machine accessibility. Voters using the traditional standing voting booths easily block their ballots from passersby, but voters using the accessible machines in wheelchairs don’t have the same privacy.
Flores-Brewer said their Boise office did receive a few calls regarding accessibility complaints — but for polling locations in Ada County, not Canyon.
“We actually had more problems this year with Ada County than with Canyon County,” she said.
Other changes in the future
If other options and workarounds fail, Canyon County may consolidate polling places into six to eight “super voting sites” in order to maintain strict compliance with ADA regulations. Elections staff say this option would cause more problems and confusion among voters, and they have yet to determine one location that could function as a “super voting site.”
Even a doorknob or the placement of a fire extinguisher matters, Yamamoto said. Churches aren’t usually interested in changing ornate doors to include push bars, even when the county is paying.
When that happens, there’s no other option but to switch to a new location. That happened with the Canyon Hill Church of the Nazarene in Caldwell, which hadn’t been used as a polling location since the it was flagged by the DOJ’s initial review in August 2016. On Election Day, someone had placed a sign in the window directing voters to the correct polling location.
“Every time we make a move, we get significant backlash,” Yamamoto said.
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto discusses ADA compliance at the Lewis and Clark Elementary School polling place in Caldwell.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto discusses ADA compliance at the Lewis and Clark Elementary School polling place in Caldwell.
Chris Bronson/IPT
A sign advertises the curbside voting at a polling location during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
A sign advertises the curbside voting at a polling location during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon Hill Church of the Nazarene in Caldwell was a former polling location in Caldwell.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon Hill Church of the Nazarene in Caldwell was a former polling location in Caldwell.
Chris Bronson/IPT
The sloped incline leading up to Sacajawea Elementary School in Caldwell would fail ADA compliance for a polling location.
Chris Bronson/IPT
The sloped incline leading up to Sacajawea Elementary School in Caldwell would fail ADA compliance for a polling location.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto examines the polling location at Sacajawea Elementary School in Caldwell during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto examines the polling location at Sacajawea Elementary School in Caldwell during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto walks to the entrance to the polling location at Lewis and Clark Elementary in Caldwell during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto walks to the entrance to the polling location at Lewis and Clark Elementary in Caldwell during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto laughs with poll workers at O’Connor Field House in Caldwell during a site visit during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto laughs with poll workers at O’Connor Field House in Caldwell during a site visit during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto shares a laugh with poll workers during a site visit at Lewis and Clark Elementary in Caldwell during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto shares a laugh with poll workers during a site visit at Lewis and Clark Elementary in Caldwell during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto examines the reserved handicap parking spot used for curbside voting at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Caldwell during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto examines the reserved handicap parking spot used for curbside voting at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Caldwell during the May 15 primary election.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto points out the ADA compliance breaches disqualifying the Canyon Hill Church of the Nazarene as polling location. Sacajawea Elementary School replaced this polling location.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto points out the ADA compliance breaches disqualifying the Canyon Hill Church of the Nazarene as polling location. Sacajawea Elementary School replaced this polling location.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto points out the ADA compliance breaches disqualifying the Canyon Hill Church of the Nazarene as polling location. Sacajawea Elementary School replaced this polling location.
Chris Bronson/IPT
Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto points out the ADA compliance breaches disqualifying the Canyon Hill Church of the Nazarene as polling location. Sacajawea Elementary School replaced this polling location.
Chris Bronson/IPT
The polling place at O'Connor Field House in Caldwell is in question because the slopes in the parking aren't ADA compliant.
Chris Bronson/IPT
The polling place at O'Connor Field House in Caldwell is in question because the slopes in the parking aren't ADA compliant.
Chris Bronson/IPT
The polling place at O'Connor Field House in Caldwell is in question because the slopes in the parking aren't ADA compliant.
Chris Bronson/IPT
The polling place at O'Connor Field House in Caldwell is in question because the slopes in the parking aren't ADA compliant.
Chris Bronson/IPT