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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNew Rule Prohibits Voters In Miami-Dade County From Using The Restroom, No Matter How Long The Line
During the 2012 presidential election, voters reportedly waited on line for upwards of six hours. That wait alone is enough to deter would-be voters from going to the polls. But now residents in Floridas most populous county will have another disincentive: they wont be able to go to the bathroom.
Earlier this year, the Miami-Dade County Elections Department quietly implemented a policy to close the bathrooms at all polling facilities, according to disability rights lawyer Marc Dubin. Dubin said the policy change was in direct response to an inquiry to the Elections Department about whether they had assessed accessibility of polling place bathrooms to those with disabilities.
I was expecting them to say either yes we have or yes we will, Dubin said.
Instead, he received a written response announcing that the county would close all restrooms at polling places to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not treated unfairly, a January email stated. [T]he Departments policy is not to permit access to restrooms at polling sites on election days, Assistant County Attorney Shanika Graves said in a Feb. 14 email. Elections Department officials did not immediately respond to ThinkProgress inquiries.
Dubin said he was shocked at this response, and not just because it suppresses the vote for everybody. The Americans with Disabilities Act also requires entities to make reasonable accommodations to those with disabilities. For those with a number of conditions, including diabetics and those taking diuretics, closing the restroom will make standing in that line impossible, and thus discriminate against disabled voters.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/04/10/3425252/new-rule-prohibits-voters-in-miami-dade-county-from-using-the-restroom-no-matter-how-long-the-line/
rurallib
(62,448 posts)My god, these people are so scared of fair elections.
CatWoman
(79,302 posts)or disgust.
Perhaps a bit of both
greymattermom
(5,754 posts)can be ordered and donated. Someone should start a potty fund.
rurallib
(62,448 posts)that tried to take away bathrooms!
3catwoman3
(24,046 posts)It would be fittingly symbolic.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)The core problem is people in authority who are consciously discouraging voting. They should be aggressively dealt with.
What's needed isn't a truckload of porta potties, but a busload of civil rights lawyers.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)place.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)jwirr
(39,215 posts)3catwoman3
(24,046 posts)...BULL$H!T is this? These effers must stay awake at night plotting their next draconian moves. Absolutely insane, not to mention inhumane. I hope this will be challenged ASAP.
I am going to have to change the RWNJ acronym to FRWNJ.
BanzaiBonnie
(3,621 posts)with lids.
Then they can leave them on the doorstep of the county electins officials.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)IronLionZion
(45,528 posts)so they look for any way to stop people from voting. Which includes limiting the number of polling places and times in urban areas like Miami-Dade. These places often have long lines.
leftyohiolib
(5,917 posts)but then i get all sorts of reason why that's not true
IronLionZion
(45,528 posts)whichever side is more excited and gets their people to the polls will win.
tea party was fired up in 2010. Dems not so much.
deafskeptic
(463 posts)Perhaps one way to get around this is to bring portable toilets to get around this effing rule? No American should be kept from voting for their candidate of choice.