Westmoreland County officials announced in September all 306 voting precincts for the Nov. 5 presidential election will be accessible to disabled voters.
The county’s election board approved location changes for 10 precincts, including eight that were not in compliance with with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
“We are 100% ADA-compliant,” said Greg McCloskey, director of the county election bureau. “The buildings we changed today were the ones that we could not make temporary changes to to comply with the ADA.”
In April, TribLive reported that 16 voting precincts used last spring were not fully accessible for disabled voters and poll workers. Temporary infrastructure such as ramps, call bells and other equipment and signs will be installed at eight of those locations while another eight facilities will be relocated for the November election.
The changes include:
• Allegheny Township No. 2 — McKees from Allegheny Presbyterian Church to Allegheny Township Fire Department, 99 Fire Hill Road, Leechburg.
• Avonmore Borough — from Avonmore Fire Hall to Avonmore Civic Center, 458 Railroad Ave.
• Loyalhanna Township No. 2 — from Novak Oil Co. office building to Loyalhanna Township Garage, 245 Second St., Saltsburg.
• Mt. Pleasant Borough 3rd Ward — from 3rd Ward Fire Station to Mt. Pleasant Emergency Medical Services Center, 100 E. Main St.
• Rostraver Township Van Meter — from Stanley Slominany residence to Olive Branch Baptist Church, 296 State Route 981.
• South Huntingdon Township Jacobs Creek — from St. Nicholas Recreation Hall to Barren Run United Methodist Church.
• Vandergrift Borough 2nd Ward — from Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 to The Center of Franklin, 262 Franklin Ave.
• West Newton Borough 3rd Ward — from West Newton Field House to Keystone Rail House Event Center, 115 S. Second St.
Federal law requires all voting precincts used during federal elections to be ADA compliant, but exceptions to that rule allowed the county to continue using facilities that did not meet required standards, according to officials.
Pennsylvania’s Department of State, which oversees elections, last fall issued guidance to county elections officials that polling locations not accessible to disabled voters can be used when it was not reasonable to make changes and no other viable options were available.
Westmoreland commissioners, acting as the elections board, also approved relocations of two other polling locations:
• New Kensington 4-2 — from River Community Church to Kubrick Enterprises LLC in AK Valley Park, 600 Freeport Road.
• Salem Hugus — from Congruity Presbyterian Church to the Lions Club, 1874 Lions Club Road.
