The Harris Poll® #11
February 18, 2004

Overwhelming Majorities of Public Find It Unacceptable for States to Claim They Are Exempt from Provisions of Americans with Disabilities Act

by Humphrey Taylor

If the Supreme Court voted with public opinion they would find against several states that claim that they should not be required to make courthouses and other state buildings accessible to people with disabilities. The court is currently reviewing the case of Tennessee vs. Lane, where several plaintiffs with disabilities have encountered inaccessible courthouses. These plaintiffs had to be carried up the steps, or had to crawl up, in order to be present at their own trials or to perform their court-related jobs or errands.

Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, federal government buildings, theaters, restaurants, offices and public transportation have been required by Title II of that law to be accessible to people in wheelchairs and with other disabilities. This poll shows that the public overwhelmingly believes that they should be. But, Tennessee, with the support of seven other states, has argued before the Supreme Court that states are not required to comply with the ADA.

A nationwide Harris Poll of 3,378 adults surveyed online between January 19 and 28, 2004, finds that a 93% to 7% majority of all adults thinks that "states should be required to make courthouses and other public buildings accessible to people with disabilities." This includes well over 90% of those with and without disabilities.

When this sample of all adults was presented with two arguments for each side in the case, they almost all agreed with the arguments against the states. The arguments for the states were rejected by large majorities but were accepted by larger minorities:

• A 94% to 6% majority of all adults agrees that "any system which forces someone to leave his or her wheelchair and crawl up stairs to get to a courthouse is totally unacceptable."
  
• An almost equally massive 93% to 7% majority agrees that "as private businesses are required by law to make offices, workplaces, restaurants, theaters, and transportation systems accessible to wheelchairs, state governments should also be required to do so."
  
• One-quarter (25%) of all adults agree with the argument that "making courthouses and other state buildings accessible to wheelchairs may be desirable, but the federal government should not have the right to force states to do this." However, 75% reject this argument in favor of states rights.
  
• One person in six (17%) agrees with another argument for the states that "making courthouses and other public buildings accessible to people in wheelchairs would involve spending too much of the taxpayers' money;" but here again, a very large majority (83%) disagree.

For the rest of the article, go to: Harris Interactive

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