Feds direct city to improve access to polls
Published in the Eagle Tribune May 4, 2018 by Keith Eddings
We have not solved ADA access to the polls!
www.eagletribune.com
Category Archives: Uncategorized
ISSUE: Trump Admin Starts to Withdraw Medical Equip Accessibility Rules
The Trump Administration May Have Made It Even Harder for People With Disabilities to Access Health Care
From rewire.news, May 2, 2018 by Robyn Powell
“The Department of Justice recently moved to withdraw rules related to the accessibility of medical equipment and furniture.”
After describing the many successes of the ADA, the article states: “Yet despite these important successes, people with disabilities continue to experience substantial health disparities. ”
Read the entire article below. And make sure you are ready to vote in the September primaries and in November! And we encourage you to contact your congressional representative and both of our senators in Washington. We cannot afford to reverse these hard-won gains!
https://rewire.news/article/2018/05/02/trump-administration-may-made-even-harder-people-disabilities-access-health-care/
Disability Questionnaire for Candidates
AAPD has a new Candidate Questionnaire Template 2018 (PDF).
From 2016: I contend that the answers by Donald Trump were predictive of his performance todate on disability issues! You can see the 2016 Presidential questions and answers at www.aapd.com.
Updates from Nonprofit Vote
We love the new website, ideas and toolkits from Nonprofit Vote. Visit their website at www.nonprofitvote.org. They focus on all voters, from the perspective of nonprofit organizations. Their templates (www.nonprofitvote.org/resource-library/making-plan/) for Making a Voter Engagement Plan, and 2018 Voter Engagement Timeline are a great place to start.
Democrats Running for Governor
Update April 26
Citing insufficient funds, Seti Warren has dropped out of the governor’s race, leaving two Democratic candidates: Robert Massie and Jay Gonzalez.
Massachusetts Democratic Candidates For Governor Talk Policy In Pittsfield
From WAMC.org – Northeast Public Radio
By Josh Landes – Mar 26, 2018
All three Democratic candidates for governor (running against Governor Charlie Baker) recently participated in a forum in Pittsfield. Read this story and learn more about Robert Massie, Setti Warren and Jay Gonzalez.
If all three are approved at the Democratic State Convention in early June, then all three will be on the primary ballot in the September 4 State Primary. To vote for Democratic candidates in the primary, you must be a registered Democrat or unenrolled. You must have registered to vote by August 15.
Disability Impact on Lamb Victory
from The Daily Kos, by Chris Reeves, published Wednesday, March 14, 2018
“…One item that won’t get enough praise, though, will be the efforts by the Pennsylvania Democratic State Party, as well as local organizations and the campaign to mobilize and turnout voters to the polls, especially voters with disabilities — because in the end, more important than any other item, is taking voters who believe in your cause and changing them from believers sitting at home, to believers who vote.
It is time to talk about why state efforts on this front are sometimes wildly underappreciated, but why their impact matters….”
Read the entire article at www.dailykos.com.
Lead On, ADAPT!
Editorial from the March 19, 2018 Disability Policy Consortium Weekly Update:
Lead On, ADAPT!
ADAPT is at it again. They are showing, once again, that they hold the high ground in our movement when it comes to putting their money and their bodies where their mouth is. By the time you read this, ADAPT will be in their 11th day outside the home of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director, Scott Gottlieb. Since 2016, the FDA has had draft regulations which would ban the use of electric shock devices as therapy on people with disabilities. Commissiomer Gottlieb has refused to release the regulations.
For too long, we have been fighting to shut down the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton. Torture is not treatment!
You can follow ADAPT here.
You can donate here. They can use your support. Consider making a donation to help our courageous brothers and sisters.
We at the DPC say, in the words of the immortal Justin Dart “Lead On, ADAPT!”
Legislative Advocacy Priorities Guide Spring 2018 from NCIL
This guide, by the National Council on Independent Living, lists all of the legislative priorities related to Independent Living. The number and scope of these priorities is formidable. The guide will advise you on important issues that you can alert your legislators about. If you don’t like their responses, take action at the polls!
View the entire NCIL Legislative Advocacy Priorities Guide Spring 2018.
Results of National Poll of Voters with and without Disabilities
From RespectAbility.org
Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2018 – A new national phone poll of registered voters shows the size, scope, and varied nature of the disability community in the United States. Fully 63 percent of American voters are in the extended disability community — people with disabilities, a family member with a disability, a close friend with a disability, work on behalf of people with disabilities, or volunteer for disability causes.
Click Here to read the entire poll – lots of important data! 2018 will be an important year for disability issues.
Webinar March 8 – Being Nonpartisan
Being Nonpartisan: Voter Engagement Dos and Don’ts for 501(c)(3) Nonprofits
From NonProfitVote.org
Thursday, March 8, 2018 – 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST
If you’re new to voter engagement work, you may have questions about what your organization is permitted to do as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The answer is a lot, as long as you do it on a nonpartisan basis. In this webinar, participants will discuss how to ensure that your nonprofit remains nonpartisan while engaging clients, consumers, staff, and constituents around voting and elections. The webinar includes explanations of IRS rules, do’s and don’t’s for nonprofits, and more.
If you can’t “attend” the webinar, it will be available online afterwards. Browse the website for other valuable webinars.