Filed Date: Oct. 2, 2020
Closed Date: Oct. 13, 2020
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On October 2, 2020, the Disability Law Center (Massachusetts’s Protection and Advocacy agency) filed this to challenge Massachusetts’ Accessible Vote by Mail (AVBM) program on behalf of four individual plaintiffs, the Boston Center for Independent Living, and Bay State Council of the Blind. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, where it was assigned to District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock and named the commonwealth’s Secretary of State as a defendant. The plaintiffs alleged that the AVBM program failed to provide meaningful access to the voters with disabilities for whom it was created to accommodate, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 12131, et seq.) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794). Specifically, they claimed that the AVBM program prevented voters who are blind or have low vision, mobility/dexterity disabilities, or other print disabilities from casting their AVBM electronic ballots without third party assistance by including steps that constituted foreseeable barriers to private and independent voting. These steps included requirements that voters print their electronic ballots, sign an affidavit printed on an envelope in which the ballot had to be placed, and place that envelope into a second outer envelope before placing it in the mail. The plaintiffs requested declaratory and injunctive relief, attorneys fees, and also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction the same day they filed their complaint.
Only a week after the lawsuit was filed, the parties reached a settlement. On October 13, 2020, Judge Woodlock entered a consent judgment ordering changes to the AVBM program for the 2020 general election. The changes included permitting email submission of accessible electronic ballots along with an accessible electronic affidavit that could be completed with a typewritten signature. 2020 WL 6558211.
Summary Authors
NDRN (9/11/2022)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/18506434/rivero-v-galvin/
Last updated March 18, 2023, 3:02 a.m.
State / Territory: Massachusetts
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Oct. 2, 2020
Closing Date: Oct. 13, 2020
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Four individual Massachusetts voters with disabilities, the Boston Center for Independent Living, and Bay State Council of the Blind.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Attorney Organizations:
NDRN/Protection & Advocacy Organizations
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Boston, Suffolk), State
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Content of Injunction:
Preliminary relief request withdrawn/mooted
Issues
General:
Disability:
Voting: