(San Francisco, CA) — A federal court has ruled that California’s Vote-by-Mail Program violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and California Government Code section 11135. The program discriminates against blind voters and others with print disabilities by forcing them to depend on another person to return their ballots.

In an October 2, 2026 order in California Council of the Blind v. Weber, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim of the Northern District of California granted summary judgment to a statewide class of voters with print disabilities, which include disabilities that prevent a person from reading, marking, holding, or handling a paper ballot.

“Blind Californians have waited too long to cast a ballot that is truly our own. Every other voter marks a ballot, seals it, and sends it off without anyone looking over their shoulder. Today the court said we deserve exactly the same,” said Guillermo Robles, President of California Council of the Blind.

California lets these voters receive and mark their ballots electronically, using screen readers and other assistive technology on their own devices. But the State then requires them to print the ballot, sign and seal it in an envelope, and mail or deliver it on paper. Many cannot do those steps without help. The result is that a sighted assistant, a roommate, or even a print-shop clerk learns how they voted. As the Court noted, the problem is widespread: Disability Rights California (DRC), one of the organizations representing the class, regularly receives calls on its Voting Hotline from voters with print disabilities who cannot vote privately and independently through the Vote-by-Mail Program.

“I’ve been voting for years, and I’ve never once cast a truly private ballot. That’s not because I can’t make my own choices. It’s because the State’s system doesn’t let me finish the job myself. This decision is a step toward changing that,” said Russell Dawson Rawlings, a voter with a mobility disability and named plaintiff.

The Court held that meaningful access to vote by mail includes the right to vote privately and independently. It pointed to the California Constitution’s command that “voting shall be secret” and found that requiring help from another person “is antithetical to voting in secret.” The Court rejected the Secretary of State’s argument that voters’ right to choose an assistant was enough, explaining that being allowed to have help is very different from being required to have it.

“Every election, I’ve had to decide whether to vote in secret or vote at all. No voter should face that choice. I’m grateful the Court recognized that my ballot should be mine alone,” said Chris Gray, a blind voter and named plaintiff.

The Court will next determine the remedy. Plaintiffs are asking the Court to require an accessible electronic ballot return option so that voters with print disabilities can complete the entire vote-by-mail process privately and independently. “The technology to let blind voters mark and return a ballot privately already exists, and other states already use it. This ruling makes clear that California cannot stop halfway. We look forward to working toward a remedy that gets this done before the next major election,” said Mark Riccobono, President of National Federation of the Blind.

Plaintiffs are represented by Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Advocates, and Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP.

Media Contacts

Charlotte Lanvers
Director of Litigation
Disability Rights California
Charlotte.Lanvers@disabilityrightsca.org
(510)267-1213

Eve Hill
Brown Goldstein & Levy
ehill@browngold.com
(202)802-0925

Sean Betouliere
Disability Rights Advocates
sbetouliere@dralegal.org
(510)972-9909

Disability Rights California (DRC) is the agency designated under federal law to protect and advocate for the rights of Californians with disabilities. The mission of DRC is to defend, advance, and strengthen the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities. For more information visit: https://www.disabilityrightsca.org

Brown, Goldstein & Levy: Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, criminal defense, and appellate advocacy. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.

Disability Rights Advocates (DRA): With offices in California, New York, and Illinois, DRA is the leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center. DRA’s mission is to advance the rights, inclusion, and equity of people with disabilities nationwide through high-impact litigation, education, and advocacy. DRA represents people with all types of disabilities in complex, system-changing class action cases. For more information, visit https://dralegal.org/.