Justice Department secures agreement with Texas county to make election website accessible to people with disabilities

HOUSTON — Colorado County has entered into a settlement agreement which resolves findings it violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by maintaining an election website that discriminates against individuals with vision or manual disabilities, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.  

“The right to vote is a right all American citizens exercise, including individuals with visual or manual disabilities,” said Hamdani. “Election websites provide crucial voting information and must be accessible so that voters with disabilities have equal access to information.” 

The county’s election website provides essential information about how to vote, such as registration requirements, identification requirements and voting information for people with disabilities. The website also links to other critical information, including details about early voting and voting on election day.

Under the settlement agreement, Colorado County agreed to make all future and existing online election content accessible to people with disabilities. The county also agreed to hire an independent auditor to evaluate the accessibility of their election website’s content, provide notice to visitors and users of the website to solicit comments and requests about any accessibility barriers, designate an employee to coordinate its efforts, revise its procedures and train relevant personnel.

This investigation is part of the Department of Justice’s ADA Voting Initiative, which safeguards the voting rights of individuals with disabilities. To read more about the ADA and how it applies to voting, please visit Voting and Polling Places. This settlement agreement is also part of the Department of Justice’s Tech Equity Initiative to combat disability discrimination that occurs through technology such as websites and mobile apps.

The Southern District of Texas is committed to vigorously enforcing the ADA. Additional information is available at Civil Rights Division for the Southern District of Texas.

Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Elizabeth Karpati handled the matter.