The National Federation of the Blind of Texas (NFB-TX) and a group of registered voters in Harris County, Texas, who are blind and print-disabled have filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Harris County and County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth for their failure to provide remote accessible vote-by-mail ballots for blind and other voters who cannot read or complete paper ballots. Plaintiffs are represented by Brown Goldstein & Levy’s Eve Hill, Lauren Kelleher, and Marisa Leib-Neri and co-counsel from Disability Rights Texas.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, claims violations of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The individual plaintiffs include Cedric Bryant, Ted Galanos, Louis Maher, and Michael McCulloch, all registered Harris County voters who are blind and/or have other disabilities that prevent them from independently holding, reading, marking, or handling paper ballots. The plaintiffs, including NFB-TX, filed this complaint not just on their own behalf, but on behalf of all registered Harris County voters with print disabilities and seek class certification to represent that entire group in this lawsuit.
“Voting is a fundamental right essential to full and equal participation in American society, and that right necessarily includes the ability to cast a ballot privately and independently, without fear of disclosing our vote to others or having our ballot tampered with,” said Norma Crosby, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas.
Under Harris County’s current system, vote-by-mail ballots are provided only in paper form. As a result, voters who are blind or have print disabilities must rely on sighted assistants to read and mark their ballots, sacrificing privacy and independence while violating law that guarantees a secret ballot.
Despite repeated requests from Disability Rights Texas and advocates for blind voters, Harris County has refused to provide accessible ballots to voters with print disabilities. In October 2024, after individual plaintiff Mr. McCulloch requested an accessible ballot as an accommodation, the County Clerk’s Office denied the request, asserting that no such ballot existed and that Texas law prohibited electronic ballots for disabled voters.
“That assertion is simply wrong,” said Eve Hill. “Federal disability rights laws require public entities to provide auxiliary aids and services, including accessible electronic documents, when necessary to ensure equally effective communication. Accessible electronic ballots are readily available and already in use in Texas and many other jurisdictions.”
In fact, the lawsuit shows that Harris County previously offered a Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail system for military and overseas voters and has even successfully transmitted electronic ballots to astronauts on space missions, including Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams, who were stranded for several months aboard the International Space Station. In addition, Bexar County, Texas, was ordered by a federal court in 2023 to provide accessible electronic ballots to blind voters as a result of a similar lawsuit.
Blind and print-disabled voters regularly use access technologies—such as text-to-speech screen readers, Braille displays, mouth-stick styluses, and adaptive switches—to independently access digital devices and electronic documents. If Harris County provided ballots that could be marked and returned electronically with these technologies, these voters could complete them without assistance.
The plaintiffs are requesting that the federal court order Harris County to implement an accessible electronic vote-by-mail system, declare the current paper-only system unlawful, and award attorneys’ fees and costs.
ABOUT EVE HILL
Eve Hill is one of the nation’s leading civil rights lawyers, known especially for her work with clients with disabilities and LGBTQ+ clients. She has been recognized by Law360 as one of just 12 “Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” for 2023, as well as by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America (2022-2025). Her wide-ranging experience complements Brown Goldstein & Levy’s decades of dedication to high-impact disability rights cases and its advocacy on behalf of individuals with disabilities and their families. Eve also leads Inclusivity, BGL’s Strategic Consulting Group, which works with organizations to promote the education, engagement, and employment of people with disabilities. Read more about Eve.
ABOUT LAUREN KELLEHER
Lauren J. Kelleher represents individual clients, plaintiff classes, and organizations in a variety of complex litigation matters challenging disability and religious discrimination, pay issues, wrongful convictions, and unlawful housing practices. Lauren has litigated cases in state and federal trial courts as well as courts of appeal. She has a robust employment and disability rights practice and has successfully represented clients in cases of individual and class-based discrimination against entities ranging from small employers to large government actors. Lauren is well-versed in litigation to remedy systemic discriminatory practices. Lauren enjoys working closely with clients, telling their stories effectively, and advocating creatively for them all while ensuring they have the advice and counsel needed to understand all available options. Read more about Lauren.
ABOUT MARISA LEIB-NERI
Marisa Leib-Neri joined Brown Goldstein & Levy as the firm’s Disability Rights Fellow in September 2025. She is a disability rights attorney with a passion for justice for the vulnerable members of her community. Before joining BGL, Marisa served as the Disability Law Fellow at Disability Rights North Carolina. During her two-year fellowship, she represented children with mental health disabilities in the child welfare system and advocated for better investment in community mental health programs. Read more about Marisa.
ABOUT BROWN GOLSTEIN & LEVY
Founded in 1982, Brown Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.
Please find media coverage below.
Blind and Print-Disabled Harris County Voters File Federal Lawsuit Seeking Accessible Vote-by-Mail Ballots | National Federation of the Blind (February 6, 2026)
Voters with disabilities sue Harris County for allegedly lacking inclusive vote-by-mail options | Houston Public Media (February 5, 2026)
As Spring Primaries Approach, Some Disabled Voters Unable to Cast Ballot | Disability Rights Texas (February 5, 2025)
Texas voters file ADA suit over ‘inaccessible’ mail-in ballots | Westlaw Today (February 5, 2025)
Group of blind voters sue Harris County alleging mail-in ballots violate privacy | Houston Chronicle (February 4, 2026)