Advocacy Team
Disability Voting Resources and Information – Illinois Elections are November 8, 2022
Access Living friends and allies,
It’s time to get ready for the November 8 elections! Today we’re sharing some great nonpartisan information and resources on voting and disability.
Resource: American Association of People with Disabilities Online Voting Hub
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), home of the REV UP campaign, has set up an online voting resource hub where you can register to vote and look up how to vote in the state where you live. We’d especially like to highlight the powerful section on voting stories, where disabled people share about why voting is important to them.
Resource: AAPD & REV UP Voting Webinar on 10/14/22
On Friday, October 14 at 1pm CST, join AAPD and REV UP for an online webinar to learn more about their state voting guides, which share how to vote in your state, and include information about accommodations and what to do if you have difficulty voting as a disabled voter. AAPD and REV UP will present the guides and then answer questions during this webinar. ASL and CART will be provided during this webinar. If you need additional accommodations, email laluri@aapd.com, or let AAPD know when you register for the webinar.
New Report: The 2020 Elections and Voting Accessibility
Rutgers University recently published a report titled “Disability and Voting Accessibility in the 2020 Elections.” Some of the key findings include:
- A marked decline in voting difficulties among people with disabilities from 2012 to 2020.
- About one in nine voters with disabilities encountered difficulties voting in 2020, double the rate of people without disabilities.
- Voting difficulties were most common among people with blindness or vision impairments and people with cognitive impairments.
- Almost 75% of voters with disabilities used a mail-in ballot or chose to vote early in-person in 2020. This represents a significant increase from 2012 and is higher than the two-thirds of non-disabled voters who voted via mail-in ballots or early voting in 2020.
- People with disabilities voted at a 7% lower rate than people without disabilities of the same age, pointing toward a continuing disability gap in voter turnout.
Please share this information with fellow disability advocates. Let’s get out the disability vote!