ARM 44.3.102. ROLE OF SECRETARY OF STATE

(1) The Secretary of State is empowered under the Voting Accessibility Act, 13-1-202, MCA, and these rules to: (a) establish guidelines that define and determine accessibility at the polling place; (b) prescribe the forms and materials necessary to ensure uniformity in the surveying of polling places; (c) determine what constitutes an emergency that allows an exemption from accessibility status; (d) grant exemptions to the requirement that a polling place shall be accessible to the elderly and handicapped; (e) establish procedures to ensure that any handicapped or elderly voter assigned to an inaccessible polling place will be provided with an alternative means for casting a ballot on election day; (f) provide public notice, calculated to reach elderly and handicapped electors in a timely manner, of the: (i) availability of aids under the Voting Accessibility Act; (ii) assistance under section 208 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 aa-6); and (iii) procedures for voting by absentee ballot; and (g) not later than December 31 of each even-numbered year, report to the Federal Election Commission, in a manner to be determined by the commission: (i) the number of accessible polling places in the state; (ii) the number of inaccessible polling places; and (iii) the reasons for each instance of inaccessibility. (2) These are the rules adopted to establish and maintain uniformity in the implementation of the Voting Accessibility Act.