From the American Association of People with Disabilities:

This September we’ll celebrate the 7th annual Disability Voting Rights Week (DVRW), September 9-13, 2024.

DVRW is a crucial initiative focused on building power within the disability community by ensuring people with disabilities are registered and ready to vote. People with disabilities are a significant voting bloc, and are a part of all political parties and demographics. Systemic barriers and voter suppression continue to prevent many disabled voters from accessing the ballot, and DVRW is also about continuing to fight to improve election accessibility and raise the visibility of our community as an important voting bloc.

This year’s DVRW will highlight three key issue areas that impact our community: accessible housing and home and community based services;, economic justice; and democracy. 

Last year, DVRW was a tremendous success. We sent over 60 free swag boxes to partners nationwide and supported more than 50 events across 31 states. Our community registered voters, made voting plans, collaborated with elected officials, advocated for improving election accessibility, and created songs and art about voting.

The disability vote has the power to strengthen our democracy at every level, from local school boards to the U.S. Congress. 

Learn more about Disability Voting Rights Week on our launch page, and sign up to join the DVRW movement to gain access to our community resources folder.

If you’re hosting a DVRW event, let us know using the Join the Movement form by July 29 and we’ll send you a box of swag! 

Disability Voting Rights Week Community Resources

Fill out this form to get access to your community resources folder! The folder includes: social media graphics, a plan to vote, sample press releases, template proclamations, and more. 

Accessibility Audit Toolkit

Check out this accessibility audit toolkit! While polling places are required by law to be accessible, we know that many people still experience access issues on Election Day. By reviewing, or auditing, polling places we can collect important information to help local election officials improve election accessibility. The National Polling Access Audit Coalition created this free toolkit to support organizations in the process of conducting an audit. The toolkit has information on training volunteers, ideas on strategy, and a sample questionnaire and data template to help you collect information. 

Plain Language Voting Guides

Review how, where, and when to vote using AAPD’s plain language state voting guides. On our Voter Info page, you can also find plain language definitions related to voting – which are yours to use.

REV UP MA and the Disability Law Center are looking for volunteers willing to testify about the importance of polling place accessibility and on experiences with accessibility barriers when voting in person during a hearing at the State House next Wednesday, September 13th @ 1pm. Participants will have the option of testifying in person in State House room A1 and virtually through Microsoft Teams. 

Volunteers will be testifying in support of H. 701  – An Act Enforcing accessibility for voters with disabilities, a standalone bill which is also part 4 of the Voting Access Act. The Act requires the Secretary of the Commonwealth to arrange inspection of all polling places and early voting sites at least once every four years, to ensure compliance with federal and state disability accessibility laws. 

Please let DLC know if you are willing and able to join us in testifying at the hearing. Notify Ealmedalopez@DLC-MA.org or TPritchard@DLC-MA.org. To register to testify virtually, you must provide contact information through this on-line testimony form by 4:00 PM on Monday, September 11, 2023. Individuals and groups testifying in person are also encouraged to register online.

Written testimony may be submitted by Friday, September 22, 2023, to the Joint Committee on Election Laws at 24 Beacon Street, Room 445, Boston, MA 02133, or by email to colleen.bellotti@mahouse.gov and mark.sternman@masenate.gov. 

Testifying about your own experience with in-person voting accessibility issues will ensure that your voices are heard when it comes to the ongoing fight for equality at the polls for all in Massachusetts. Thanks to each of you for all of your efforts to make voting in Massachusetts accessible for all.

Who: Youth/young adults with disabilities, ages 16-26

When: June 25 –June 30, 2022

Where: Virtually via an online format.

Why: to help build leadership skills and leave better prepared for future employment, higher education, and independent living.

What topics are covered?

• Employment skills
• Advocacy
• Disability pride
• Career Mentoring
• Independent living
• Disability services

To apply and learn more, visit www.PYD.org or contact Carl Sidney, Youth Leadership Program Manager, at 1-978-364-9722 or csidney@pyd.org.

Download the Youth Leadership flyer (pdf).

(updated 4/4/2022)

Organize for Justice – with the Midwest Academy

April 11-14, 11:30-4pm EST 
Midwest Academy will be hosting a training just for REV UP on Organizing for Justice. This 4-day virtual training will take place April 11-14, from 11:30 to 4pm EST, with breaks throughout the day. This training will be interactive and focus on developing strategic campaigns, injecting racial justice into your organizing, how to be more effective in your outreach and recruitment, and more. ASL interpreting and CART captioning will be available, as well as other accommodations requested.

Attendance is limited for this training, so if you are interested in joining the training, please apply with the link below by Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 5pm EST!

Apply for Organize for Justice

Campaigning with a Disability Recording

March 21, 2021 – ​REV UP co-hosted this ​webinar ​with the National Coalition on Independent Living (NCIL)​ on March 21​. The event included a presentation from Sarah Blahovec at NCIL about ​key things to ​consider when ​thinking about running for office as a person with a disability. The event also included a panel discussion ​Harriet Hines, Jules Good, and Nikki Villavicencia​, each of whom shared their experiences with campaigning as a disabled candidate.

Campaigning with a Disability recording and Campaigning with a Disabilitytranscript.

Voter Registration Workshop Recording

March 23, 2021 – This spring, REV UP is hosting a series of workshops on Getting out the Vote in the disability community. This first workshop on March 23 focused on voter registration and featured panelists from the REV UP network and partner organizations including Gene Martinez, Krystle Allen, Rainey Dock Matthews, and Carolyn Dewitt.

View the Transcript and video: AAPD Voter Registration Workshop Part 1 recording and transcript

Voter Registration Workshop Part 2

Wednesday, April 6, 2-3 p.m. ET

Even after spending an hour and a half together on March 23, many questions remained.

In order to provide more time to explore key voter registration challenges and opportunities, we will have another workshop on Wednesday, April 6, from 2 to 3pm ET. This workshop will include ASL and captioning. If you have any other accommodation requests, contact me at laluri@aapd.com.

Register for AAPD Voter Registration Workshop Part 2

About National REV UP at AAPD

The American Association of People with Disabilities spearheads the national REV UP.  They recently created the Rev Up Voting Campaign Guide with lots in useful information.

Perkins School for the Blind will be testing a digital voting system in order to help make the voting process as accessible as possible for people who have disabilities. To do this, they are conducting a “mock election” on the Perkins Campus in Watertown, MA on Monday March 21 through Wednesday March 23. As you know, accessibility remains a major barrier to voting for people with disabilities and with your help we can try to ensure that every vote counts! You will receive a $25 Amazon gift card for your participation.

Who is eligible:
People with disabilities who are eligible to vote (at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen).  Participants do not need to be registered.  Participants can speak Spanish or English. 

When:
Monday, March 21, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Tuesday, March 22, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Wednesday, March 23, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Where:
In Person at the Perkins School in Watertown

How to sign up:
Please complete this brief questionnaire if you are interested in helping to make voting more accessible to millions of Americans! Someone will then follow up with you to schedule a day and time that is convenient for you (it should take no more than 15-30 minutes). To ensure everyone’s safety, facial coverings are required and social distancing practices will be in place during the events.  Please email Gary Aussant at gary.aussant@perkins.org if you have questions.

Please Read!

AAPD submitted comments that provide feedback in response to the public draft of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Recommendations for Addressing Barriers to Private and Independent Voting for People with Disabilities.

Read the full recommendations document. 

This document should also be read by Massachusetts officials.

In case you missed it, you can finally see the video from the AAPD Event: The Disability Vote in 2020.

Visit the event page at www.aapd.com/rev-up-webinar-disability-vote-in-2020, scroll down and watch the video or read the transcript.

Going forward, the many new restrictive voting bills will have an impact on the disability vote.

We All Have A Right To Be Engaged

Marlene Sallo, ED of Disability Law Center, was interviewed by WGBH on election day.

Watch the video and read the story at https://www.wgbh.org/specials/2020/11/03/we-all-have-a-right-to-be-engaged-civil-rights-attorney-on-making-voting-accessible-to-all .

“Her team’s efforts to ensure that this year’s elections were accessible to all voters began nearly a year ago, when the Disability Law Center started working with state and local officials to ensure that the language used for mail-in voting met the same accessibility standards as those for voting in person. Given health and safety considerations due to the coronavorus pandemic, it became even more important to ensure that all voters could safely cast their ballots, whether at the polls or from home.

“Don’t we all have the right to vote independently and privately?” she said. “Someone with a disability should not have less of a right than someone without a disability.”

Let’s hope this is in place in Massachusetts for 2022!

NCAM, an accessibility consulting unit of GBH, which made its mark early on by inventing captioning for broadcast television, is working with states and app developers to improve the accessibility of voting information, election-related websites and tools and the voting experience itself for the more than 35 million U.S. voters who have a disability. Most recently, NCAM has worked with Voatz, a Brookline-based developer, to ensure that its voting app, long used by overseas military personnel, is accessible domestically for people with disabilities.

Read the article NCAM Supports Voters With Disabilities By Ensuring Access To Digital Information.

Let’s Get Out the Disability Vote in 2020!

This year has challenged all of us. Now, more than ever, we have to make sure that each and every one of our voices is heard through the Power of the Disability Vote!

Join REV UP MA’s video conference conversation on Friday, September 11 at 10:30 am to discuss the importance of disability advocacy during this year’s Presidential Race and how we can all work to Get Out The Vote!

We want to hear from you – What are your concerns? What issues should the candidates be addressing? How can we make sure that every vote is counted!

Register

Register online at DLC-MA.org.

Agenda

10:30 AM – Welcoming Remarks

10:40 am – 11:45 am – COVID, the 2020 Election and Accommodations – Current Protections and What we need to do moving forward – Discussion followed by a Q&A

• Michelle Tassinari, Director and Legal Counsel – Secretary of State Elections Division
• Commissioner Thomas Hicks, Election Assistance Commission

11:45 – 12:15 pm – DLC Wants to Hear From You: What Are Your Concerns About the Upcoming Election

• Tatum Pritchard, Director of Litigation, Disability Law Center
• Marlene Sallo, Executive Director, Disability Law Center

12:15 – 12:30 pm – BREAK

12:30 – 2:00 pm – The 2020 Election & Why We Need to Get Out the Vote – Discussion followed by Q&A

• Michelle Bishop, Voter Access & Engagement Manager – National Disability Rights Network
• Rebecca Cokley, Disability Rights Activist/Director – Disability Justice Initiative, Center for American Progress
• Erin Prangley, Director of Policy, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
• Sandy Ho, Research Associate, Lurie Institute for Disability Policy

2:00 – 2:30 pm – Closing Remarks

More info

Join the Video Conference Conversation

** Registrants may participate by telephone **

ASL Interpreters and CART have been confirmed.

Please submit any accommodation requests to Amanda at 617-315-4440 or agasparonis@dlc-ma.org by no later than September 4, 2020.