In Re Georgia Senate Bill 202

On January 31, 2024, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest explaining how the ADA's equal opportunity and reasonable modification requirements apply in the voting context.  The statement of interest was filed in In Re Georgia SB 202, a consolidated lawsuit challenging restrictions on absentee and in-person voting under Georgia Senate Bill SB 202 (“SB 202”).  One of the private lawsuits alleges that SB 202 fails to provide people with disabilities an equal opportunity to vote absentee and in-person or make reasonable modifications to avoid disability-based discrimination, in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The department’s brief explains that, under the ADA, voters with disabilities must have an equal opportunity to vote by a particular method as do voters without disabilities, and that this equal opportunity requirement is separate from the requirement that public entities make reasonable modifications.