Iowa - Dubuque County Auditor's Office
Program Title
Strategic Partnership with Dubuque County Disabilities Council
Program Summary
The Dubuque County Auditor's Office formed a strategic partnership with the Dubuque County Disabilities Council to visit polling locations on election day during the Primary and General elections to assess if any improvements could be made to polling places.
While our polling locations are ADA compliant, and we use an ADA Checklist, there are barriers that our election staff could be creating without being aware of them. Although they are trained before each election and given disability checklists, without the firsthand experience of challenges posed to those who rely on ADA accessibilities, our elections staff may be unintentionally creating barriers.
The partnership was able to determine that small changes like better placement of a curbside voting signs, larger laminated elevator signs, and word changes could help improve the voting experience for all. Lighting was brought to our attention for voters with visual impairments. Adding a clip-on light to our voting booths, which is a very basic improvement, creates a positive accessibility impact. This strategic partnership shed light on basics that most take for granted but are barriers for others. We will continue to work with the Dubuque County Disabilities Council to offer tangible, practical, and impactful improvements for future elections.
While our polling locations are ADA compliant, and we use an ADA Checklist, there are barriers that our election staff could be creating without being aware of them. Although they are trained before each election and given disability checklists, without the firsthand experience of challenges posed to those who rely on ADA accessibilities, our elections staff may be unintentionally creating barriers.
The partnership was able to determine that small changes like better placement of a curbside voting signs, larger laminated elevator signs, and word changes could help improve the voting experience for all. Lighting was brought to our attention for voters with visual impairments. Adding a clip-on light to our voting booths, which is a very basic improvement, creates a positive accessibility impact. This strategic partnership shed light on basics that most take for granted but are barriers for others. We will continue to work with the Dubuque County Disabilities Council to offer tangible, practical, and impactful improvements for future elections.