| Absentee Ballot Exclusion of
Voters With Print Disabilities Was Sued now
Briefs on Contempt
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
July 21 – The American Council
of the Blind sued for
ADA-compliant access to the
absentee voting program for
voters with print
disabilities.
Back in August
2020 U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York Judge Lewis J. Liman held
a proceeding. Inner City Press
covered it.
In a
lengthy oral argument on a
possible preliminary
injunction, the problems of
not having a printer for those
with print disabilities was
analyzed in detail. At the
end, Judge Liman ordered the
parties to meet and confer and
submit a joint letter into the
docket by 6 pm.
When it came -
after Inner City Press had
gotten wrongfully withheld
filings in another case
unsealed - the parties said
"Plaintiffs and Defendants met
to discuss possible resolution
for the November General
Election. Unfortunately,
parties are unable to settle
this matter absent an order
from this Court. Respectfully,
parties await your order."
And, with
more detail than this, the
order came, denying the
preliminary injuctions still
envisioning a submission by 5
pm on August 17 to lead to an
order: "Plaintiffs’ motion for
preliminary injunction
requiring the State to
implement an RAVBM system
statewide is DENIED. In
accordance with this Opinion
& Order, and to ensure
that Plaintiffs are able to
cast private and independent
votes, and to vindicate their
rights under the ADA and the
Rehabilitation Act, however,
the Court orders Defendants to
submit a proposed injunction
consistent with Defendants’
written and oral
representations regarding
implementation of an
accessible absentee voting
system for the November 3,
2020 election. Defendants
shall meet and confer with
Plaintiffs regarding the terms
of that injunction." Watch
this site.
Jump cut to July
1, 2022, when Judge Liman held
another conference which Inner
City Press again covered, with
the primaries and general
elections coming up. Judge
Liman ordered: "Plaintiffs
shall file any motion to
enforce the Settlement
Agreement by July 8, 2022.
Defendants shall file any
response by July 15, 2022. The
Court will hold an evidentiary
hearing on the matter on July
21, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. in
Courtroom 15C of the 500 Pearl
Street Courthouse. The parties
are further directed to, by
July 8, 2022, meet and confer
to determine whether the
process of obtaining Office of
General Services approval can
be expedited."
On July 12 the
plaintiffs' filed a motion for
enforcement - and for contempt
- stating that "Defendants
have failed to... implement a
Remote Access Vote By Mail
system in time for the June
Primary Election and now say
they will be unable to do so
in time for the August Primary
Election. Defendants are
unable to demonstrate the
compliance was impossible or
impracticable for either
election."
On July 21, Judge
Liman ordered, "ORDER: The
Court held an evidentiary
hearing today on Plaintiff's
motion for enforcement of the
settlement agreement and/or
contempt. At the conclusion of
the hearing, the Court ruled
that Defendants had breached
the settlement agreement. The
Court reserved decision on the
questions of (1) the proper
remedy for breach of the
settlement agreement; and (2)
whether Defendant should be
held in contempt and if so
what contempt sanctions the
Court should impose. As stated
at the hearing, it is hereby
ORDERED that the parties shall
submit briefing on these
questions in accordance with
the following schedule:
Plaintiffs' opening brief
shall be submitted on or
before August 18, 2022;
Defendants' opposition shall
be submitted on or before
September 1, 2022; and
Plaintiffs' reply brief shall
be submitted on or before
September 9, 2022. It is
further ORDERED that each
Friday, beginning on July 29,
2022 and continuing until an
RAVBM system is implemented
statewide, counsel for
Defendants shall submit a
report updating the Court on
the progress that has been
make on implementing such a
system. In preparing these
reports, counsel for
Defendants shall inquire as to
the progress of this process
from both the New York State
Office of General Services as
well as the New York State
Board of Elections.(Signed by
Judge Lewis J. Liman on
7/21/2022)."
The case is
Hernandez et al v. New York
State Board of Elections et
al., 20-cv-4003 (Liman)
***
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