An interim final rule issued April 20 pushed back a planned April 24, 2026 deadline for large municipalities to make government apps and online offerings accessible under technical standards. Disabled people and disability rights groups criticized the delay as undermining equal access promised by the ADA. Title II of the ADA requires state and local governments to avoid disability discrimination in services, and DOJ has long maintained that the requirement applies to digital content. Many government services are now online, including election information, forms, payments, courts, hospitals, transit, schools, and utilities. These services often lack accessibility features such as zoomable content, high-contrast text, keyboard navigation, autocomplete, and screen-reader compatibility. Over 70 million Americans have disabilities, including millions with visual disabilities.
"A last-minute change from the Department of Justice (DOJ) has outraged disabled people and disability rights groups and could affect access to the ballot box come the midterm elections this November. The agency issued an interim final rule on April 20, pushing back a planned April 24, 2026, deadline for large municipalities to ensure their apps and online offerings are accessible in accordance with certain technical standards."
"Ensuring access to the websites and mobile apps of government entities is required under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which forbids discrimination based on disability in state and local government services. Since 1996, the DOJ has consistently held that the law applies to digital content."
"A vast number of state and local government services are now online, including forms, payment processors, and information from election offices, courts, public hospitals, parks, libraries, utilities, transit agencies, school districts, universities, and more. Those online services often lack basic features, such as zoomable content, high-contrast text, keyboard navigation, autocomplete options, or compatibility with screen readers, which would make them accessible to users with certain visual, motor, or cognitive disabilities."
"Over 70 million Americans have a disability; 7.6 million have a visual disability. The DOJ, which is responsible for issuing regulations to clarify the rights and obligations of those co"
#americans-with-disabilities-act-ada #department-of-justice-doj #accessible-web-and-mobile-apps #voting-access #disability-rights
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