Florida County Bans Voters From Using the Bathroom

Florida boasts a storied history when it comes to election fairness and voter suppression. During the 2012 presidential elections, wait times to vote exceeded six hours at some polling places, and the average wait throughout the state was 45 minutes—the longest in the country. Many black and Latino voters waited at least twice as long as that to cast their vote.

Meanwhile a disability rights lawyer named Marc Dubin inquired with the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, asking whether the restrooms at polling places were compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In response, Miami-Dade County has announced it will close the bathrooms at all voting locations, so as not to be “unfair” to people with disabilities who might not be able to use the facilities.

In an email to Dubin, County Elections Department representative John Mendez wrote, “Please note State statute does not mandate that the restrooms in the polling location be ADA compliant. As we discussed at the meeting in order to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not treated unfairly, the use of restrooms by the voters is not allowed on election day.”

Yes, you read that correctly. In the last election, more than 200,000 Floridians were dissuaded from voting because of the long lines. Now Florida voters will not only face long lines to vote—they’ll also have to have bladders of steel to make it to the booth.