Website Accessibility (ADA): Avoiding Lawsuits and Reaching Disabled Voters
Website Accessibility (ADA): Avoiding Lawsuits and Reaching Disabled Voters is the first critical step in building a digital campaign that truly reflects Democratic values while immunizing your war chest against predatory litigation. In a cycle where every margin matters, excluding the disability community—a massive and mobilized voting bloc—is a strategic error that plays directly into the hands of the GOP. Furthermore, the rise in automated legal trolls targeting political websites means that failing to secure your site is akin to leaving the front door of your campaign headquarters unlocked.
Securing the Digital Front: Website Accessibility (ADA): Avoiding Lawsuits and Reaching Disabled Voters
The modern political battlefield is digital, and accessibility is no longer optional. While we fight to protect democracy and reproductive freedom, we must ensure our digital infrastructure is open to all. The context here is two-fold: moral and financial. Morally, as Democrats, we champion inclusivity; a website that a blind voter cannot navigate contradicts our platform. Financially, the risk is acute. Specialized law firms are using automated scanners to find non-compliant sites and file demand letters. For a local or congressional campaign, an unplanned settlement fee can drain the budget for a week of critical TV ads. Republicans often view these regulations as burdens, but we view them as opportunities to walk our talk. By addressing this proactively, you insulate your campaign from legal distraction and open your message to millions of voters with visual, motor, or cognitive impairments who are looking for a champion.
The Strategic Stack: Choosing the Right Compliance Tools
To tackle this effectively, you need a ‘Shield and Build’ strategy. First, you need a political-native website builder that understands our ecosystem. We recommend ‘RUN! (DesignedToRun)’, a platform explicitly built for Democrats and Progressives—no Republicans allowed. Their templates are designed with best practices in mind, and they operate on a model that respects campaign cash flow, charging a one-time activation fee and then just $50 per month. Second, you must layer a compliance shield on top. Tools like ‘accessiBe’ provide an automated AI widget that remediates code in real-time for screen readers. For smaller campaigns, their ‘Micro’ plan is efficient at $490 per year. For larger organizations or state parties, the ‘Growth’ plan at $1,490 per year offers comprehensive litigation support, which is vital for proving a good-faith effort if challenged. Alternatively, ‘Accessibility Checker’ offers continuous monitoring starting at $699 per year, providing the documentation needed to prove you are actively managing compliance.
Integrations: Connecting Accessibility to NGP VAN and ActBlue
Your accessibility strategy must extend beyond the homepage to your data operations. The goal is to ensure that when a disabled voter engages, their data flows seamlessly into your VoteBuilder or NGP VAN instance. While overlay tools like accessiBe are stack-agnostic—meaning they sit on top of any site—using a platform like RUN! simplifies the backend. RUN! features direct integrations with NGP VAN, EveryAction, and Action Network, ensuring that accessible forms push supporter data directly to your CRM without manual entry. Crucially, you must verify the accessibility of your fundraising pages. If you are using ActBlue or NGP VAN hosted forms, keep your styling simple. High-contrast themes and standard layouts ensure that the donation flow remains compliant. Remember, a broken donation button for a screen reader user is a lost donation that helps the opposition.
Three Costly Mistakes That Expose Campaigns to Risk
The first mistake is relying solely on free, automated plugins that do not offer legal protections. Free tools often fail to catch complex navigation errors that lawyers look for. You need a paid solution like EqualWeb or accessiBe that provides an audit trail or litigation support. The second mistake is ignoring ‘Alt Text’ on social media and website images. If you post a graphic about your opponent’s voting record without a text description, a blind voter only hears ‘image,’ and you lose the persuasion opportunity. The third mistake is failing to publish an Accessibility Statement. Your footer must include a clear link to a statement outlining your commitment to WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 standards and providing a contact method for users having trouble. This simple document is often your first line of defense against a lawsuit, demonstrating that you are aware and responsible.
Pre-Launch Compliance Checklist
Before you announce or drop your first digital ad, run this protocol. First, confirm your base platform (like RUN!) is correctly integrated with your CRM. Second, install your remediation widget (accessiBe or EqualWeb) and verify it loads on mobile devices. Third, use the ‘Accessibility Checker’ to run a scan and aim for a score that meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards. Fourth, manually test your donation page using a keyboard only—if you cannot tab through the form and hit ‘Donate’ without a mouse, neither can a motor-impaired donor. Finally, archive your initial audit report. In the event of a legal claim, being able to produce a dated report showing a passing score or a remediation plan is often enough to dismiss a nuisance suit.
The Sutton & Smart Difference
In a race decided by razor-thin margins, you cannot afford to leak votes or bleed cash due to unforced errors. While you focus on the message, we secure the machinery. Sutton & Smart provides the Full-Stack Infrastructure that powers winning Democratic campaigns. From high-level General Consulting that steers your ship through choppy legal waters to Real-Time FEC Burn Rate Audits that ensure every dollar is spent on persuasion, we protect your flank. We don’t just advise on compliance; we operationalize it, ensuring your digital presence is bulletproof against GOP litigation tactics. Logistics beat hope. Let’s build a fortress for your campaign.
Ready to Win?
Contact Sutton & Smart today to fortify your digital infrastructure and secure the path to 51%.
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Jon Sutton
An expert in management, strategy, and field organizing, Jon has been a frequent commentator in national publications.
AutoAuthor | Partner
Have Questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
We strongly advise against it. Free plugins rarely offer the level of remediation required to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards and never provide the litigation support or 'proof of effort' documentation that paid services like accessiBe or EqualWeb provide to defend against lawsuits.
Yes, RUN! is built specifically for the Democratic ecosystem. It integrates seamlessly with ActBlue for donations and NGP VAN for voter data, allowing you to maintain accessible pathways for fundraising and volunteer recruitment.
We recommend continuous monitoring. Websites change as you add blog posts, press releases, and event photos. Tools like Accessibility Checker or the monitoring features in accessiBe's Growth plan will scan your site every 24 hours to catch new errors immediately.
This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice. Political campaign laws, FEC regulations, voter-file handling rules, and platform policies (Meta, Google, etc.) are subject to frequent change. State-level laws governing the use, storage, and transmission of voter files or personally identifiable political data vary significantly and may impose strict limitations on third-party uploads, data matching, or cross-platform activation. Always consult your campaign’s General Counsel, Compliance Treasurer, or state party data governance office before making strategic, legal, or financial decisions related to voter data. Parts of this article may have been created, drafted, or refined using artificial intelligence tools. AI systems can produce errors or outdated information, so all content should be independently verified before use in any official campaign capacity. Sutton & Smart is an independent political consulting firm. Unless explicitly stated, we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any third-party platforms mentioned in this content, including but not limited to NGP VAN, ActBlue, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Google, Hyros, or Vibe.co. All trademarks and brand names belong to their respective owners and are used solely for descriptive and educational purposes.
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