Membership in the Voting Rights Coalition - Bathrooms for Voters Project is by application-only or invitation-only. To apply to join, please contact Marc Dubin, Esq. at mdubin@pobox.com.
Please provide your name, title, and contact information, your organization's name and website address, and a brief reason for wanting to join. We look forward to hearing from you.
Bathrooms for Voters Project is a national network of groups created in response to Miami Dade's decision to close all restrooms to voters rather than providing voters with disabilities accessible restrooms at all polling places. We want to ensure that voters are not subjected to long lines or denied access to accessible restrooms at polling places, and want temporary accessible restrooms where necessary (e.g., churches used as polling places).
Who Are We? Coalition Members
The Voting Rights Coalition - Bathrooms for Voters Project was formed in April of 2014. Despite lines to vote that were 7 hours long, Miami Dade County asserts that provision of restrooms to voters is not mandated by law, but rather, is a matter of "courtesy". We disagree. They have designated over 200 churches as polling places, and refuse to take any steps to ensure that voters with disabilities assigned to these polling places have an accessible restroom they can use. Instead, they have repeatedly stated that all voters will be denied access to restrooms at polling places, and will continue to assign voters with disabilities to churches that lack accessible restrooms.
Deputy Elections Department Supervisor John Mendez wrote:
…(I)n order to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not treated unfairly, the use of rest rooms by the voters is not allowed on election day."
According to a written statement from Assistant County Attorney Shanika Graves:
“(T)he Department’s policy is not to permit access to restrooms at polling sites on election days…. This policy was implemented to avoid situations where accessible restrooms would be available to some, but not all voters."
The County’s Chief Deputy Elections Supervisor told the media that “There’s no legal requirement for us to provide bathroom access, but we, as a courtesy to our voters, do when there is a bathroom at the polling place…That’s not always possible. “
In light of the long lines at polling places, Coalition members believe that restrooms are required by federal civil rights laws, and are not simply a matter of "courtesy". We believe that they are an integral part of voting, and that the County must provide restrooms, including accessible restrooms, at polling places. We believe that the failure to provide restrooms that are accessible when voters have to wait in long lines is a violation of voters' federal civil rights, and we are committed to addressing this before this suppression tactic spreads across the country.
Members:
AARP - Florida
Advancement Project
A.Philip Randolph Institute of Central Florida
Center for Independent Living of South Florida
Central Florida Jobs with Justice
Clean Water Action
Color of Change
Common Cause Florida & National Common Cause
Disability Rights Florida
disAbility Solutions for Independent Living, Inc.
Emerge USA
Equality Florida
Fair Elections Legal Network
Florida AFL-CIO
Florida Black Youth Vote
Florida Black Women's Roundtable
Florida Chinese Federation
Florida Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Florida Institute for Reform and Empowerment
Florida New Majority
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
League of Women Voters Florida
League of Women Voters of Miami Dade
LULAC Florida
Main Street Alliance Florida
Mi Familia Vota
NAACP, including its Florida State Conference of Branches and its Miami Dade Branch
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
National Congress of Black Women
National Council of Jewish Women (Greater Miami Section)
National Council of LaRaza
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
National Organization For Women (NOW) - Florida
OCA South Florida Chapter
Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast
Progress Florida Education Institute
Project Vote
SEIU Florida
South Florida AFL-CIO
South Florida Voices for Working Families
United Chinese Association of Florida
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