Justice Department Doesn't Penalize States For Failing On Voting Act
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 3, 2006

WASHINGTON, DC--Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice are not clear about how many states have failed to upgrade their polling systems as Congress required under the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

But one thing is clear: The agency has not penalized any states, even though the deadline for upgrading is Tuesday, November 7, 2006.

Those upgrades include making sure polling places are accessible and requiring voting system alternatives that voters with disabilities can use to cast a private, confidential ballot.

According to the Associated Press, the Justice Department has filed lawsuits against Alabama, Maine, New Jersey and New York for not following the law, but those states still have until next year to comply. Other states are at varying degrees of compliance.

Related:
"Despite tough new laws, U.S. states not penalized for failing to upgrade voting systems" (Associated Press via International Herald-Tribune)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1103c.htm

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Reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
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