Sixty-four percent of 141 polling places in Washington County surveyed last summer by the Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living were found to be inaccessible to the disabled.

Results of the survey were given to county Elections Director Larry Spahr last month, said Bob Romero, membership director of the organization, which also is known as TRIPIL.

But on Election Day, the disabled still found inaccessible polls or poll workers inexperienced in dealing with disabled voters.

Mr. Spahr said he visited each of the county's 168 polling places and acknowledged the county's obligation under the Help America Vote Act to make a good-faith effort to find polling places for the disabled and the elderly.

"It's an ongoing effort," he said.

A disabled voter, he added, could take the option of casting an absentee ballot.

But, "an absentee ballot continues to reinforce isolation, segregation and denies full integration into the community. That's not acceptable," Mr. Romero said.

Some TRIPIL members could get to the polling place, but the door was too heavy to open, Mr. Romero said. There is an impression, he said, that if handicap parking is available, it makes a building accessible. Not true.

Mr. Romero, who was born without arms and uses his feet to write, said that when he voted Tuesday at the South Strabane municipal building, he ended up sitting on the floor to use the machine.

He said the poll worker he dealt with was unable to adjust the machine to a height he could use, and the machine had to be removed from the stand and placed on the floor. Because the screen was vertical Mr. Romero said, he had to get down on the floor with the machine to read it.

"We want the right to vote in our community like anyone else and what's required by law," Mr. Romero said,

"We're going to try to work in conjunction [with TRIPIL] and see what we can do." Mr. Spahr said.