Audit Showed States’ Mail-in Ballot Applications Were Not Digitally Accessible, Influencing the Election’s Outcome
HERNDON, VA – November 24, 2020 – While some state websites have made progress since 2016’s vote, the 2020 election showed that digital accessibility has a long way to go. Many eligible voters with disabilities were impeded from casting a ballot in the recent Presidential election because the application forms required to vote-by-mail were digitally inaccessible. So much so, that the final election result could have been easily swayed by accessibility.
Deque Systems’ September audit of the required mail-in ballot application forms (PDFs) for registered voters discovered that 43 states’ applications had some level of digital inaccessibility – making them challenging or impossible to complete by certain people with disabilities. Deque alerted each state to this digital divide, providing fully accessible forms at no charge.
Progress Made: 16 states made significant progress in enabling people with disabilities to vote safely via mail-in ballots. These states enabled a more accessible vote-by-mail process by implementing accessible web and PDF applications, or by eliminating the application process entirely.
Progress Still To Come: Voters with disabilities in the remaining 34 states could not use their assistive technologies, like screen readers, to read and complete those applications. This group comprises a number of potential eligible voters greater than the number of voters which determined the winner in this Presidential election.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act require that government agencies guarantee certain rights to people with disabilities. Recent 4th and 6th Circuit federal court rulings have confirmed that accessibility applies to election websites, apps, online documents, forms or applications, as well as the absentee ballots themselves.
“Digital accessibility is the modern-day expression of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The fact that 34 states were unresponsive to Deque’s offer indicates they are not getting the message,” comments Eve Hill, an attorney at Brown, Goldstein and Levy. “Digital accessibility is as essential as offering physical accommodations, like ramps or braille signs, for in-person voting locations. Such complacency leaves these government agencies vulnerable to lawsuits.”
Common accessibility issues included missing alt-text and missing or improper semantic markup for things like headings, forms and lists, all of which make these documents difficult to read, for example, by a visually impaired person relying on a screen reader.
“Given the necessity of mail-in ballots this election, it was frustrating that more states did not respond to help people with disabilities exercise their constitutional right,” says Preety Kumar, CEO of Deque Systems. “We estimate that many thousands of Americans were impeded from one of the most contested elections in history. This is an issue that must be avoided in future elections, as we increasingly rely on digital means to conduct life’s activities.”
Deque Systems plans to offer similar services to states in future elections.
Rhode Island Goes the Extra Mile: Rhode Island worked with Deque to remediate both their English and Spanish application forms, as well as emergency request applications. “Our mission is to improve access to the ballot box while securing the integrity of every vote,” says Rob Rock, Director of Elections, Rhode Island Department of State. “I am excited to implement these more accessible digital applications for the voters of Rhode Island.”
Was ist digitale Barrierefreiheit? Digitale Barrierefreiheit bezeichnet die Praxis, digitale Dokumente, Web- und mobile Apps für alle Menschen zugänglich zu machen, einschließlich Menschen mit Behinderungen. Viele Menschen mit Seh-, Hör-, motorischen, sprachlichen oder kognitiven Behinderungen sind auf verschiedene Formen von assistiver Technologie oder Barrierefreiheitsfunktionen angewiesen, um die Vorteile des Internets in vollem Umfang nutzen zu können. Ohne die kontinuierliche Nutzung von Funktionen wie Untertiteln, Alternativtext für Bildschirmleseprogramme, Zoomfunktionen, übersichtlichen Darstellungslayouts und vielem mehr kann die Nutzung digitaler Inhalte umständlich oder gar unmöglich sein.
*The 6th Circuit case on voting is Hindel v. Husted, 875 F.3d 344.
**The 4th Circuit Case is National Federation of the Blind v. Lamone, 813 F.3d 494.
Über Deque
Deque (ausgesprochen „Dee-Cue“) ist ein Anbieter von Software und Dienstleistungen im Bereich der Barrierefreiheit im Internet, und unsere Mission ist „Digitale Gleichberechtigung“. Wir sind der Überzeugung, dass jeder Mensch, unabhängig von seinen Fähigkeiten, gleichen Zugang zu Informationen, Diensten, Anwendungen und allen anderen Inhalten im Internet haben sollte.
Wir arbeiten mit großen Unternehmen und Organisationen zusammen, um sicherzustellen, dass ihre Websites und mobilen Apps barrierefrei sind. Mit über 250.000 Installationen in Browsern und mehr als 1.000 abgeschlossenen Prüfprojekten ist „ Deque “ der Branchenstandard.
Ansprechpartner für die Presse
Unter Deque:
Ryan Bateman, 703-225-0380, marketing@deque.com
