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For Wheelchair Users, Chicago's Polling Places Could Use Some Improvement

(CBS) -- A first-time voter who happens to be in a wheelchair is met with a flight of stairs at the polling place.

When his mother tweeted the picture, many asked: Isn't that breaking the law?

CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez – the mother, in this case – reports.

Her son, David, did get to vote Tuesday -- at the curb. That is not compliant with the American Disabilities Act, but the city of Chicago is taking steps to meet the federal standards.

Curbside voting "certainly allows you to vote, but it doesn't allow you to vote like everybody else," says Barry Taylor of Equip For Equality.

He says a Department of Justice study conducted during the March primary found many barriers to voters with disabilities in Chicago. The city's Board of Elections promises that won't be the case in the next election.

The agency asked Equip For Equality to survey every Chicago polling place, which includes older buildings.

Some fixes will be easy; others will not, Taylor says.

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