Welcome to the Washington Connection, the legislative and information service of the American Council of the Blind. The Washington Connection is brought to you by the ACB national office. If you have any questions or comments on the information provided, don’t hesitate to contact us and ask to speak with Swatha Nandhakumar.
The Washington Connection is updated any time we have new information to share with you. The following articles are available as of April 19, 2024. Messages 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 are new.
- New! Justice Department to Publish Final Rule to Strengthen Web and Mobile App Access for People with Disabilities
- New! Justice Department Launches Updated Voting Rights and Elections Website
- New! Last Chance to Complete the Leadership Survey
- A Letter from AAVL on the Older Americans Act
- ACB’s Work on Accessible Voting
- Announcing the 2024 ACB Board of Publications Candidates Pages
- New! Resolutions and Proposed Constitutional Amendments Due April 25, 2024
- New! Convention Corner - Marketplace
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Justice Department to Publish Final Rule to Strengthen Web and Mobile App Access for People with Disabilities
WASHINGTON, April 8, 2024 – Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today signed a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure the accessibility of web content and mobile applications (apps) for people with disabilities. This final rule clarifies the obligations of state and local governments to make their websites and mobile applications accessible. Every day, people across the country use the web and mobile apps to access public programs and services, including emergency information, courts, healthcare providers, schools, voting information, parking, permit applications, tax payments, and transit updates. If these technologies are not accessible, it can be difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to access critical services. Consequently, individuals with disabilities may be excluded from accessing public services that other people routinely use.
“This final rule marks the Justice Department’s latest effort to ensure that no person is denied access to government services, programs, or activities because of a disability,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “By issuing clear and consistent accessibility standards for state and local governments’ digital content, this rule advances the ADA’s promise of equal participation in society for people with disabilities. I want to thank the many public servants across the Department, led by the Civil Rights Division, for their tremendous work on this rule.”
“This rule affirms the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to achieving the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act — ensuring that people with disabilities can fully and equally participate in our society,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “The rule, which clarifies the standards for making mobile apps and websites accessible, is vital to people’s ability to use and benefit from public programs and services.”
“This rule is truly historic and long overdue as it will help break down barriers that have kept people with disabilities from fully participating in American life,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division. “The rule will help ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to a full range of government services including critical activities like voting, taking online courses, applying for public benefits, filing taxes and more. For far too long, people with disabilities have been left behind as we've witnessed more services and government activity increasingly move online. This rule is helping to usher us into a new era by bringing an end to the discrimination faced by millions of Americans with vision, hearing, cognitive and manual dexterity disabilities across our country.”
The rule will provide much-needed standards for addressing a wide variety of barriers. For example, the rule will help ensure blind individuals can access information about public transportation on a city’s mobile app or website, enable people who are deaf or hard of hearing to participate in university lectures online and allow individuals with manual disabilities affecting their ability to use a mouse to access web information about voter registration. Ensuring that people with disabilities can access web content and mobile apps and fully participate in public programs and services will improve the day-to-day lives of individuals with disabilities in communities throughout the country.
The final rule mandates technical standards for state and local governments to help ensure the accessibility of their programs and services provided through the web and mobile apps. By providing clarity on how to make sure these platforms are accessible for people with disabilities, this final rule advances the ADA’s promise of a more inclusive society. The final rule will soon be available for review on the Federal Register’s website at www.federalregister.gov. A fact sheet detailing information about the final rule is available here.
Justice Department Launches Updated Voting Rights and Elections Website
New and Updated Voting Rights Resources for Voters and Election Officials Released
The Justice Department announced today that it has updated www.justice.gov/voting, a one-stop resource providing voting and elections information for voters as well as state and local elections officials. As part of the update, the Civil Rights Division published two new informational guides on voting rights and updated five other guides. The Department’s longstanding practice is to update resources and provide information in election years on the efforts of the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Division, National Security Division, and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country, to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted free of discrimination, intimidation, or criminal activity in the election process, and to ensure that our elections are secure and free from foreign malign influence and interference. Over the coming months additional resources will be published.
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all others flow,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “The Justice Department is using every available authority to defend that right, both from efforts to undermine voting rights and from efforts to threaten and intimidate those who administer our elections. These updated resources will help voters understand their rights and assist public officials in fulfilling their duties.”
“Protecting the right to vote is one of the Justice Department’s highest priorities,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “Today, the Department is issuing new guidance documents, updating others, and updating our main voting website to make available in one place the resources the Department offers on voting rights — from a guide on the laws governing voting-related language assistance to a video explaining the protections against voter intimidation. We hope that these resources will make it easier for voters to exercise their rights and to enlist our help whenever and wherever those rights are under attack.”
“The Justice Department works every day to defend the right of every eligible American to exercise their voice in our democracy,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The new guides and updates we issue today, alongside our litigation, friend-of-the-court-briefs, and monitoring efforts demonstrate our commitment to using every tool available to protect the right to vote. These materials apprise voters about the protections provided by the Voting Rights Act and other civil rights laws and encourage voters to report violations. These resources also help state and local authorities comply with their obligations under the law.”
The new guides issued today include one on Voter Intimidation Under Federal Law, discussing the prohibition on threats, obstruction, or deliberately false information about the time, manner, or place of voting to prevent people from casting their ballots or participating in the electoral process. The Department has prepared a short video explaining how to report such misconduct.
The second new guide addresses Voting Protections for Language Minority Citizens under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 203 mandates language assistance to enable certain people with limited English proficiency to participate effectively in all phases of the electoral process.
Along with the two new guides, the Department updated five existing guides on the Justice Department website. The Department updated its guide on The Americans with Disabilities Act and Other Federal Laws Protecting the Rights of Voters with Disabilities. This guide describes the legal protections designed to allow equal access to every aspect of elections, including registration and voting, for people with disabilities. The Department also revised its Guidance Under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act for redistricting and methods of electing government bodies. Another update addressed Federal Law Constraints on Post-Election “Audits.” In addition, the Department updated its Guidance Concerning Federal Statutes Affecting Methods of Voting. Along with these revisions, the Department updated information on how to request Federal Election Monitors in a jurisdiction.
These guides on voting laws are just a few of the many resources the Department has made available on its website to help people exercise this foundational right and to assist public officials in fulfilling their duties. Other such resources include a brochure entitled Know Your Voting Rights, a 50-state Guide to State Voting Rules that Apply After a Criminal Conviction, explanations of the rights of voters with disabilities, including guides on Ballot Drop Box Accessibility, Solutions for Five Common ADA Access Problems at Polling Places, and How to File an ADA Complaint, and web pages addressing the voting rights of members of the armed services and U.S. citizens living overseas, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act.
The www.justice.gov/voting website also provides information on the Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which leads the Department’s efforts to address violence against election workers and to ensure that all election workers — whether elected, appointed, or volunteer — are able to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation.
You can report suspected criminal activity regarding voting to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or by filing an online complaint at tips.fbi.gov. You can also contact local law enforcement. You can report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/report/ or 1-800-253-3931.
Last Chance to Complete the Leadership Conference Survey!
Last call to complete the D.C. Leadership Conference survey! If you participated in the conference in-person in Arlington or virtually at home, ACB would appreciate your feedback on this event. Complete the feedback survey online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6JDFP86. If you are unable to complete this survey online, call Kaitlyn Herrera at (202) 467-8967 to complete the survey over the phone. Responses will not be accepted after Sunday, April 28th.
A Letter from AAVL on the Older Americans Act
Honorable Senators,
I attended your hearing on the Older Americans Act a few days ago, and was dismayed that heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s were mentioned, but not issues for older people who are blind, low vision, deaf and hard of hearing or deaf/blind. In some ways, the lack of recognition at the hearing and in the act of the plight of older people who have lost, or who are losing sight, hearing, or both makes the need for my request obvious.
Medicare and census data indicate that older people with vision loss report a higher prevalence of chronic health conditions:
- 19% of visually impaired individuals report having had a stroke versus just 7% of those without visual impairment,
- 43% versus 25% report having diabetes,
- 26% versus 15% report having depression, and
- 49% versus 30% report having had a fall in the past year.
Access to good nutrition and fall prevention programs along with health information and the opportunity for socialization will help prevent poorer health among blind, low vision, and deaf/blind people and promote their independence, as it has been shown to in other senior populations. Moreover, seniors with vision loss are disproportionately low-income, less educated and are more likely to be members of underserved minority populations.
Finally, the failure to mention vision rehabilitation services at both the hearing and in the OAA, the provision of which enables greater independence and promotes aging in place among people who are blind, low vision or deaf-blind perpetuates an important gap in service delivery for this population.
As you well know, Area Agencies on Aging provide many useful programs and services for older Americans, such as Meals on Wheels, Senior Companion, Home Weatherization, Benefit Counseling, Fall Prevention and Nutrition classes. They benefit many millions of seniors. However, those who are blind, low vision, or deaf/blind, are often left out. Our informal survey of approximately 25 randomly selected AAAs from around the country show us that:
- There is no specific outreach by AAA’s to seniors who are losing or have lost their vision and/or hearing to let them know about the programs and services;
- No initiative by AAA staff to make information available to our community in accessible formats to explain how they can apply;
- Not even the assessments used in determining eligibility are geared toward the unique daily living skills that blind, low vision, or hearing-impaired citizens need to have to continue to live independently in the community.
We commented on our vastly underserved status during the recent Rule Making process of the Older Americans Act. Those who promulgated the new rule decided that mentioning "severely disabled" would be enough. We do not believe that this term will raise the awareness of the plight of blind, low vision, and deaf/blind to the level where change will happen.
We are, therefore, requesting that you amend the OAA to explicitly include and recognize older Americans with vision and hearing loss as a distinct, important, and vastly underserved segment of the senior population which has unique and specialized needs that should be directly addressed through initiatives by local Area Agencies on Aging.
Thank you for considering this request,
Doug Powell, President
Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss
ACB’s Work on Accessible Voting
The current Assistant Attorney General, Kristen Clark, has made an effort to meet with the disability rights advocacy community on a regular basis to explain the current work of the Department of Justice and listen to the disability community’s concerns and suggestions on areas of work that should be explored. ACB has participated in these ongoing meetings and has had the opportunity to inform the DOJ on pressing issues for our community, such as the promulgation of Title II regulations for websites and the passage of the Website and Software Applications Accessibility Act. Members from the various subdivisions of the U.S. Civil Rights Division, including the Disability Rights Section, have participated in these talks. Claire and Swatha participated in one of these meetings on March 12 and advocated for accessible voting in all forms, including electronic ballot delivery and return. This opportunity has strengthened ACB’s relationship with the DOJ.
Announcing the 2024 ACB Board of Publications Candidates Pages
The ACB Board of Publications is pleased to announce the 2024 Candidates Pages. We invite any ACB member who chooses to run for one of the five elected positions on our board of directors or the three elected positions on the ACB Board of Publications to introduce yourself, respond to the four questions provided below, and, if you wish, post links, separately, to related personal, professional, or social media web pages.
The deadline for all submissions is 11:59 p.m. Eastern, on Monday, May 20, 2024.
We plan to post the 2024 Candidates’ Pages on Monday, June 3, 2024.
We will make the 2024 Candidates’ Pages available on ACB’s Leadership and ACB-Conversation lists, in “Dots and Dashes,” on www.ACB.org, and on ACB Media Channel 10. There will be abundant opportunity to amplify your responses at the live Board of Publications Candidates’ Forum, scheduled for the evening of June 19, via personal correspondence and communications with members, and via any other forums or caucuses that may be scheduled in advance of and during the ACB conference and convention.
As you respond to the following questions, please keep these guidelines in mind:
Your response to each of the four questions listed below should not exceed 300 words. The ACB Board of Publications will not edit your responses for spelling or grammar. We will limit your word count to exactly 300 words.
Share links to external web pages separately. For example, you might say, “Visit these links to learn more about me.”
Send your submission by e-mail, either pasted directly into your e-mail message or attached as a document formatted in Microsoft Word, to Sharon Lovering, [email protected]. Identify the subject of your e-mail message as “My Candidates Page.”
Please respond to the following questions:
- Introduce yourself, and explain why you wish to serve as a director on the ACB Board of Directors or a member of the ACB Board of Publications.
- What have been your strongest contributions to ACB at the national, state or special-interest affiliate, ACB Community, and/or local chapter levels, and why are these significant?
- Like many not-for-profit, membership-driven organizations whose missions revolve around advocacy and support, ACB has chosen in recent years to adopt the core values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). How does ACB’s stated mission of supporting people who are blind intersect with these core organizational values? If elected, what specific actions will you take to increase diversity, promote equity, encourage inclusion, and support accessibility within ACB, and how will you persuade members who are reluctant to embrace these principles to support DEIA as core ACB values?
- What is the most important challenge facing ACB? How will you work to address it?
Thank you, and good luck to all of you who choose to run for office. The future of ACB is in your hands.
Resolutions and Proposed Constitutional Amendments Due April 25, 2024
Resolutions should be specific and measurable: why we need to take action; what action should be taken; who is responsible for the action; when it should be completed. Resolutions about the distant future are not as useful as those with specific actions to be taken during the next year or two.
Constitution and bylaws amendments should describe why the change is recommended and the expected impact.
You will be notified when the appropriate committee will consider your proposal and it is expected that you or someone representing your views will attend that discussion to give input.
All resolutions and constitution and bylaws amendments may be sent to [email protected] and will be distributed to the appropriate committee. Get them in by April 25, 2024.
Convention Corner – Marketplace
If your affiliate has something to sell or information to hand out, consider purchasing a table at Marketplace. Read on for all the details.
- Are you an entertainer or author with CDs or books to sell?
- Do you sell crafts, cosmetics, toys, etc.?
- Is your affiliate looking for a fundraiser?
- Do you have information to distribute before a specific general session?
Consider ACB’s Marketplace if you will only be at the convention for one or two days, or the long hours of the exhibit hall are too much.
ACB’s Marketplace will be located near general session and is one of the highest traffic areas in the conference and convention. It is open before each morning general session begins, and is filled with something new and exciting every day.
Your Marketplace booth will include a draped 6-foot display table and two chairs. Space is limited, and tables will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Tables are $25 each, and you may reserve space for one or two days only; specify the days you prefer when registering. No food items may be sold at Marketplace.
Marketplace will be open Monday, July 8 through Thursday, July 11, from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. To reserve a Marketplace booth, contact Michael Smitherman at (601) 331-7740.