## Facts

- Indiana’s absentee “Vote from Home” system required blind or low-vision voters who could not independently mark a paper ballot to use a bipartisan two-person “traveling board” that visited the voter’s home to assist.
- Plaintiffs alleged the traveling-board-only method denied voters with print disabilities a private and independent absentee vote and exposed them to missed visits that could prevent voting.
- At least one plaintiff alleged she could not vote in the November 2020 general election because a traveling board did not appear.
- Plaintiffs (a blindness advocacy organization, the state protection-and-advocacy entity, and individual voters) sued state election officials under Title II of the ADA and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
- Plaintiffs sought preliminary relief before the May 3, 2022 primary election to make the traveling board optional and require accessible absentee options that did not force reliance on the traveling board.
- The State referenced a proposed electronic absentee-voting option for blind voters; plaintiffs contended it still did not provide a private and independent vote.

## Issues

1. Whether plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their ADA Title II and Rehabilitation Act § 504 claims that a mandatory traveling-board requirement denied qualified voters with print disabilities meaningful and equal access to absentee voting.
2. Whether plaintiffs faced irreparable harm absent preliminary relief for the imminent primary election.
3. Whether the balance of equities and the public interest supported narrowly tailored injunctive relief given proximity to the election and election-administration constraints.
4. Whether the court should order immediate implementation of an electronic absentee-voting system as part of preliminary relief.

## Decision

- The court granted the motion for preliminary injunction in part and denied it in part.
- The court enjoined enforcement of the mandatory traveling-board requirement for the May 3, 2022 primary, making the traveling board optional rather than compulsory for voters with print disabilities.
- The court ordered defendants to ensure county officials accepted absentee ballots completed with assistance from a person chosen by the voter (instead of requiring assistance only by a traveling board).
- The court declined to require immediate deployment of the proposed electronic absentee-voting system, finding it did not yet provide a private and independent vote, but required reporting on its use during the May 2022 primary.
- The court emphasized limits on broader relief based on timing concerns and binding precedent, while expressing concern about ongoing accessibility problems.

## Legal Principles

- Title II of the ADA and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibit public entities from excluding qualified individuals with disabilities from, or denying them the benefits of, public programs and require reasonable modifications necessary to provide meaningful access unless doing so would fundamentally alter the program or impose undue burdens.
- In election cases, denial of the ability to vote (or to vote on equal terms) in an upcoming election can constitute irreparable harm because the injury cannot be repaired after the election.
- Preliminary-injunction relief requires (1) likelihood of success on the merits, (2) irreparable harm, (3) balance of harms favoring the movant, and (4) consistency with the public interest.
- Courts may limit remedies close to an election to avoid disruptive, large-scale changes to election administration, favoring narrower measures that address the immediate violation while preserving orderly administration.

## Conclusion

The court held that plaintiffs showed a sufficient likelihood that Indiana’s mandatory traveling-board-only absentee voting accommodation denied voters with print disabilities meaningful and equal access under the ADA and Rehabilitation Act, and it issued targeted preliminary relief for the May 2022 primary by allowing assistance from a person of the voter’s choosing while declining to mandate immediate implementation of the State’s electronic absentee-voting proposal.


Am. Council of the Blind of Ind. v. Ind. Election Comm'n, 2022 WL 702257 (S.D. Ind. Mar. 9, 2022)