TY - JOUR
T1 - Access to polling places in the 2004 Presidential election
T2 - The experience of one metropolitan midwestern city
AU - Pohl, Patricia S.
AU - Froehlich-Grobe, Katherine
AU - McKiernan, Brian
AU - Vacek, Kris M.
AU - Donnelly, Michael
AU - Gaughan, Julia Gilmore
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - According to federal law, polling places must be accessible to persons with disabilities. The rate of compliance with these laws, however, is not known. Our purpose was to determine whether polling places in the Greater Kansas City area were physically accessible to persons with disabilities. Students, faculty, and staff members from four professional programs representing two universities completed surveys at 128 polling places on the day of the 2004 Presidential election. Over the 14 items of interest, compliance ranged from 75% to 99%. The highest rate of deficiencies was found in the lack of a ramp with a handrail to the entrance of the polling place. Only 43% of the polling places were compliant in all of the 14 survey items. Despite laws mandating that polling places be accessible to persons with disabilities, restrictions in access persist. Persons with disabilities may still find polling places inaccessible on Election Day.
AB - According to federal law, polling places must be accessible to persons with disabilities. The rate of compliance with these laws, however, is not known. Our purpose was to determine whether polling places in the Greater Kansas City area were physically accessible to persons with disabilities. Students, faculty, and staff members from four professional programs representing two universities completed surveys at 128 polling places on the day of the 2004 Presidential election. Over the 14 items of interest, compliance ranged from 75% to 99%. The highest rate of deficiencies was found in the lack of a ramp with a handrail to the entrance of the polling place. Only 43% of the polling places were compliant in all of the 14 survey items. Despite laws mandating that polling places be accessible to persons with disabilities, restrictions in access persist. Persons with disabilities may still find polling places inaccessible on Election Day.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33845258747&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33845258747&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5014/ajot.60.4.404
DO - 10.5014/ajot.60.4.404
M3 - Article
C2 - 16915870
AN - SCOPUS:33845258747
SN - 0272-9490
VL - 60
SP - 404
EP - 408
JO - American Journal of Occupational Therapy
JF - American Journal of Occupational Therapy
IS - 4
ER -