Report: Many 2016 voting sites lacked full disability access

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Fewer than one in five polling places were fully accessible to voters with disabilities during the 2016 general election. That's according to a government study released Thursday that has prompted federal officials to recommend the Justice Department adopt stricter compliance measures.

The report from the Government Accountability Office shows just 17 percent of polling places posed no impediments to voters. The report was based on a nationwide sample of 178 voting stations across the country examined in the days leading up to and including Election Day 2016.

The report's findings come a year before the 2018 congressional midterm elections and underscore an increase in early voting that has occurred in many states since protections for disabled voters have been enacted over the past 30 years.