Alaska did not provide accessible voting for those with disabilities, US Justice Department alleges

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The state of Alaska has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing accessible machines for in-person voting, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday. The state was also faulted for selecting inaccessible polling places and operating a state elections website that can’t be accessed by everyone.

The department informed Carol Beecher, Alaska’s election chief, in a letter dated Monday that the state “must, at a minimum, implement remedial measures to bring its voting services, programs and activities into compliance.”

Beecher did not respond to emails or a phone call by The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday.

The state has until July 1 to respond to the justice department about resolutions. Failure to reach a resolution could result in a lawsuit, the letter to Beecher said.

The federal investigation began after complaints about several voting locations during elections for regional education boards last October and for state and federal elections in August and November 2022.

For the education election, two voters complained that only paper ballots were used with no magnification device available. Another voter with disabilities that make it difficult to walk, move, write and talk struggled to complete the paperwork but received no offer of assistance, the letter said. No accessible voting machine was available.

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