Voters with Disabilities

 In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

Trump has a horrible record on disability, both on policy and his personal behavior.

KENYA HUNTER and AYANNA ALEXANDER at AP:

A new report from Rutgers University estimates that about 40.2 million eligible voters in the quickly approaching U.S. presidential election are disabled. Add those who cohabitate with people who have a disability, and you’re looking at close to one-third of the voting population for an election in which health care is among the key campaign issues.

The disabled voting bloc is growing as the U.S. population ages, but voters and advocates say the hurdles that make people feel excluded from the electoral process aren’t being addressed. That ranges from inaccessible campaign materials to former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris seldomly mentioning how issues like COVID-19 impact the disability community, as well as Trump making a statement at a rally last month that advocacy groups considered discriminatory.

“They should be treating us like we’re their path to victory because we are, frankly,” said Dom Kelly, the founder and CEO of New Disabled South, an advocacy group that focuses on disability rights in the South. “You win or lose because of disabled people, and if you don’t take our community seriously, that will reflect on the outcome of your campaign.”

Lisa Schur and her husband Doug Kruse lead the Program for Disabilities Research at Rutgers and co-wrote the new report, which also shows there are 7.1 million disabled voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

...

The Harris campaign recently hired Anastasia Somoza as its disability engagement director. Somoza, who has cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair, said the Harris campaign will host an event with disabled entrepreneurs in Pittsburgh on Monday. Somoza also said she tries to make sure there’s a virtual option for all campaign events.

In 2023, the vice president met with leaders in the disability space about transportation issues, and she has proposed paying for home care with Medicare and eliminating subminimum wage for disabled workers.

But the two presidential campaigns could do more, said Holly Latham at #MEAction, which advocates for people with chronic fatigue syndrome. She said ads, fliers and events need to be accessible to all disabled people.

Lisa Schur and Douglas Kruse, "Projecting the Number of Eligible Voters with Disabilities in the November 2024 Elections"

The number of eligible voters with disabilities is growing with the aging of the population and advances in medical technology. This brief report summarizes projections of how many people with disabilities will be eligible to vote in the November 2024 elections, based on analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s 2018-2022 American Community Survey combined with Census Bureau population projections for 2024. The methodology is described at the end of the report. 

The key findings, as shown in Table 1 and pictured in Figure 1, are: 

• A projected 40.2 million people with disabilities will be eligible to vote in the November 2024 elections, representing close to one-sixth of the total electorate. 
• The number of eligible voters with disabilities has increased 5.1% since 2020, compared to an increase of 2.5% among eligible voters without disabilities. 
• There will be 72.7 million eligible voters who either have a disability or have a household member with a disability, almost one-third of the total electorate.

Political Experiences of Autistic Adults

 In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

Alison U. Tassone, Kaitlyn E. Breitenfeldt, Elizabeth A. DeLucia, Jordan Albright, and Christina G. McDonnell.A Pilot Study of Political Experiences and Barriers to Voting Among Autistic Adults Participating in Online Survey Research in the United States.Autism in Adulthood.ahead of print

Abstract:

Background: Political participation is an important and meaningful aspect of civic engagement for adults. Existing research suggests that disabled people face barriers to political engagement. However, very little is known regarding how Autistic adults engage in politics in the United States.

Methods: Participants included 276 self-consenting Autistic adults (including those with a diagnosis and self-identified) and 361 non-autistic adults. Participants completed an online survey regarding political attitudes, barriers to voting, engagement methods, and affective experiences between December 2020 and January 2021.

Results: The majority of self-consenting Autistic adults in this online sample were registered to vote and identified themselves as part of the Democratic party and as very liberal. On average, Autistic adults most strongly supported policies surrounding disability rights and education. Overall, Autistic adults experienced greater barriers to voting than non-autistic adults. When adjusting for demographic differences across groups, the strongest group differences were that Autistic adults reported greater barriers to voting due to mental health difficulties, fear of crowds, and fear of leaving the house. Autistic adults engaged in politics more through social media outlets and through signing petitions relative to non-autistic adults, but reported engaging less through watching political debates, watching the news, and reading about politics in print newspapers, although effects were not maintained after adjusting for demographic differences. When asked about the current political climate, Autistic adults reported higher negative emotions (feeling upset, nervous, and afraid) than non-autistic adults. Demographic factors (age, gender, and income) related to political experiences.

Conclusion: Results of this study suggest self-consenting Autistic adults face significant barriers to voting and have unique experiences related to political participation. Future research to improve and support political participation among Autistic adults is a critical research priority.

Vote the Spectrum

 In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

Bridget Dowd at Fronteras:

In 2020, voting participation among people with disabilities lagged nearly 6 points behind the rate for non-disabled people, according to research from Rutgers University.

That’s why an Arizona non-profit is launching a new initiative to get people with disabilities registered for 2024.

First Place Arizona offers supportive housing for adults with autism, Down Syndrome and other neurodiversities. Now it’s launching a program called Vote the Spectrum.

First Place founder Denise Resnik said the goal is to register 10,000 individuals with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities (A/I/DD) and those who support them to vote.

“We want to recognize that people with autism and disabilities are valued, integrated members of our communities and we want to create more inclusive communities and we believe a big part of that is having a voice and a vote," she said.

First Place is also partnering with the Secretary of State’s office and the Maricopa County Recorder’s office to hold mock election days so people know what to expect at the voting booth.

Voting and Disability 2022

 In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

Lisa Schur and colleagues, "Disability and Voting Accessibility in the 2022 Elections:

Final Report on Survey Results," Submitted to the Election Assistance Commission, May 11, 2023

Executive Summary:

Analysis of the 2022 Disability and Voting Accessibility Survey, based on representative samples of citizens with and without disabilities eligible to vote in the November 2022 elections, indicates similar voting accessibility as in the comparable 2020 survey and greater accessibility than in the 2012 survey. The disability sample includes people with a range of disabilities based on Census Bureau measures. Some key results include the following:

• People with disabilities voted at a 3.6% lower rate overall than people without disabilities in 2022.
• About one in seven voters with disabilities encountered difficulties voting in 2022, which was a slight increase from the one in nine voters with disabilities who encountered difficulties in 2020.
• The likelihood of difficulties voting in person in 2022 was 20% among people with disabilities compared to 6% among people without disabilities. The likelihood of difficulties voting with a mail ballot was 6% among people with disabilities compared to less than 1% among people without disabilities.
• One in five voters with a disability either needed assistance or had some difficulty in voting in 2022, which was three times the rate of voters without disabilities.
• Voting difficulties were most common among people with vision and cognitive impairments.
• Close to three-fifths of voters with disabilities voted with a mail ballot or early in person in 2022, compared to just over half of voters without disabilities. The shift in mail voting between 2020 and 2022 was similar between voters with and without disabilities.
• Voters with disabilities were similar to voters without disabilities in perceived treatment by election officials, confidence that their votes were accurately counted in 2022, and the extent to which they report following politics.

Following the substantial drop from 2012 to 2020 in voting difficulties among people with disabilities (documented in our previous report), there was a slight uptick in 2022. This is partly explained by a shift toward voting in polling places in 2022, following the low rate of polling place voting in 2020 due to the pandemic. Voting difficulties are generally more likely in polling places than in voting by mail. The shift partly reflects reversals of eased pandemic-related voting rules in 2020. Another explanation includes changes in the composition of the voting electorate between 2020 and 2022, particularly a small increase in disability severity that may reflect the effects of long Covid. This report reviews other key results contained in 35 tables, making comparisons to the 2020 survey where available. These tables cover a variety of aspects of the voting experience, including specific difficulties, need for assistance, confidence that one’s vote was accurately

Disenfranching People with Disabilities

 In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

Barbara Sprunt at NPR:

Nationally, the 2020 election saw a big uptick in voters with disabilities casting ballots, as many states took steps to ease access amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The share of people with disabilities who reported having a problem voting dropped from 26.1% in 2012 to 11.4% in 2020, according to a study from Rutgers University.

But now, many voters with disabilities are warily following efforts across the country by Republican-led states to tighten voting rules following the 2020 election, in what conservatives say are steps to shore up election integrity.

In Wisconsin, the crux of the legal case over drop boxes and returning ballots is the interpretation of a portion of state law that details the absentee ballot return process.

"The envelope shall be mailed by the elector, or delivered in person, to the municipal clerk issuing the ballot or ballots," the statute reads.

Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which represented the plaintiffs in the original lawsuit, says the law is explicit.

"I think [the court] ought to read the law as it is written, and say that the law means what it says," he says.

But many voters with disabilities — along with others who live in congregate settings, like those incarcerated or in nursing homes — say a strict interpretation of the law leaves them behind.

"I do feel like I'm being punished just because I'm physically not able to put a ballot in a mailbox," says Stacy Ellingen, a regular absentee voter in Oshkosh.

She has athetoid cerebral palsy and uses an app on her phone that takes her typed text and speaks her words aloud.

"My caregivers help me fill out the ballot and put it in the mailbox. It's literally the only way for me to vote," she says. "If this stands, I wouldn't be able to vote for the people actually making the decisions that affect my life."

Voting Laws and Disabilities

 In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

Eric Garcia at MSNBC:

Much of the criticism of the voter suppression bills Republicans have been passing has, understandably, been focused on how those laws will hurt people of color. But as Republicans assaulted voting rights in state legislatures, plenty of people with disabilities predicted that the new laws would hurt them, too. Unfortunately, they have been proven right. People with disabilities have seen their ability to cast a ballot significantly curtailed.

During Texas’s primary election last month, Stateline has reported, many voters with disabilities reached out to Disability Rights Texas because either they had not received their mail-in ballots in time for the election or they had had their ballots rejected because of new signature and personal identification requirements.


The law requires that people who assist a voter with their ballot must fill out new paperwork that discloses their relationship with the voter and specifically prohibits people who accept compensation from providing assistance, which worries people with disabilities who require care workers to perform daily tasks. According to The Associated Press, the typical mail ballot rejection rate is around 2 percent but, during last month’s election in Texas, that rejection rate skyrocketed to around 13 percent.

...

 But the rights of people with disabilities are not only being violated in Texas. When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is not bullying LGBTQ+ people in schools or doing his best Donald Trump impersonation by picking a fight with Disney, he is passing a law that criminalizes anyone who delivers or even “physically possesses” more than two vote-by-mail ballots, excluding immediate family members, “including supervised voting at assisted living facilities and nursing home facilities.”

That overwhelmingly and disproportionately affects people with disabilities who often have to stay home either because they are in assisted-living facilities or because of chronic illness. As DeSantis takes pride in thumbing his nose at public health recommendations, plenty of people with disabilities may not be able to go outside for risk of contracting Covid-19, which makes collecting ballots all the more necessary. But in DeSantis’s Florida, both wearing a mask and helping someone cast a ballot is tantamount to communism.

A federal judge recently blocked the law, but Florida is certain to appeal that ruling.

Autism and Voting Rights

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

 From Autism Speaks:

For individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in-person voting may present challenges. Autistic voters may encounter hurdles at local election sites that can discourage them. For example, crowded spaces, long lines and wait times, and sensory impacts from harsh lighting and loud noise levels can be especially difficult. Some people with autism do not communicate verbally but may use a family member to help them navigate and/or a device for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), which may be unfamiliar to others and questioned by poll workers.

 Matt Vasilogambros at Pew:

Voting rights activists argue the new state restrictions passed in the name of ballot security have made it harder for all voters, including those with disabilities, to cast a mail-in ballot. Indeed, Texas election officials rejected nearly 23,000 mail-in ballots during the March primary—around 13% of total ballots cast. The typical rejection rate in Texas primaries is less than 2%.

Around the country, new voting restrictions driven by former President Donald Trump’s lie about widespread voter fraud have complicated an already difficult process for 38 million disabled voters—a diverse community with differing physical, sensory and cognitive abilities.

When Georgia banned handing out water in voting lines, and Wisconsin banned ballot drop boxes and absentee voting assistance, and Florida limited absentee ballot collection efforts, voters with disabilities faced additional hurdles that have and will continue to prevent many from exercising their constitutional right. Last year, 19 states enacted new voting restrictions, including limits on early and mail-in voting. Several states, including Arizona and Georgia, have added more restrictions this year.

Advocates for voters with disabilities have fought these measures through lawsuits and broad voter education efforts. That has proven challenging, however, as advocates navigate sudden shifts as measures make their way through the judicial system and undergo last-minute legislative changes during the primary season.

Texas Voting Law v. People with Disabilities

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

Sneha Dey at The Texas Tribune:

Republicans enacted restrictions last year on the state’s voting process, including rules on how Texans can assist voters when casting ballots. Texans assisting other voters must now fill out paperwork disclosing their relationship, indicate whether compensation was provided and recite an expanded oath, now under the penalty of perjury, stating that they did not “pressure or coerce” the voter into choosing them for assistance.

Texans who offer or accept compensation for providing voter assistance would be in violation of the new rules, creating anxiety among those who assist people with disabilities as part of their job.

“There are voters with disabilities who use their personal aides or personal attendants to assist them in completing daily tasks, and voting is a daily task,” said Molly Broadway, a voting rights training specialist at Disability Rights Texas, adding that she has already received calls from assistants afraid of incurring criminal charges for activities that are usually part of their duties. “It’s a very present, very real need that exists.”

Texans who drive at least seven voters to the polls are also considered assistants and must comply with new rules on compensation. Broadway said she has heard concerns from nursing home employees who provide transportation to polling places.

The new legislation also limits any kind of voter assistance to “reading the ballot to the voter, directing the voter to read the ballot, marking the voter’s ballot, or directing the voter to mark the ballot.” But voters with intellectual and developmental disabilities might need additional help, such as gestures or reminders about how they had intended to vote, to get through the process, Broadway said.

Disability Law and Civil Rights

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the civil rights of people with autism and other disabilities. 

Ari Ne'eman, a founder of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, writes at The New York Times:

Last week, the Supreme Court acquiesced to another attack on the voting rights of all Americans. In a 5-3 decision, the court blocked a trial judge’s ruling permitting Alabama counties to offer curbside voting as a reasonable accommodation to disabled voters.

...

Alabama’s ban on curbside voting was challenged by People First of Alabama, an advocacy organization run by people with developmental disabilities, using the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. People First was represented by civil rights groups like the N.A.A.C.P. and the Southern Poverty Law Center, and its challenge to to the voting restrictions was noteworthy not only because it sought to protect the rights of disabled Alabamians, but because it used a disability rights law to fight a restriction designed to suppress the turnout of Black voters.

This is not unprecedented. Disability rights law offers a valuable set of tools for civil rights advocacy of all kinds. Because the ADA requires reasonable accommodations and modifications to enable accessibility, people with disabilities can seek changes to generally applicable policies that are much harder to challenge through other statutes. And because disability is more prevalent among racial and ethnic minorities, disability rights statutes can be applied to a broad range of civil rights problems.

Recent litigation challenging the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule, restricting the entry and naturalization of immigrants likely to use social-welfare programs, makes use of disability rights law to protect immigrants. Because the administration sought to penalize immigrants for making use of public services disproportionately or primarily relied upon by people with disabilities, the door was opened for disability and immigration activists to work together in support of a common goal.

Nor is the A.D.A. the only disability rights law that offers a useful vehicle for advancing racial justice. During the Obama administration, the Department of Education sought to combat the segregation of minority children into special education classrooms by leveraging the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Though the Trump administration tried to roll back these protections, the courts soon restored them.

Guardianship and Voting Rights

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the  civil rights of people with autism and other disabilities. 

Charles P. Sabatino at the American Bar Association:

Today under federal election law, there are only two groups that states may exclude from voting—felons and persons categorized in some way as having mental impairments. Restoring the right to vote to felons who have served their time has gained much-needed attention in recent years, but access to the polls by persons having mental impairments who are under guardianship is rarely seen as a priority inquiry. The inattention is inexcusable.

...
More recently, Pennsylvania’s Senator Bob Casey introduced the Accessible Voting Act of 2020 in Congress. The bill includes several supports to enable older adults and adults with disabilities to exercise their right to vote, including an explicit provision on voting by persons under guardianship that draws directly upon ABA policy:

A State shall not determine that an individual lacks the capacity to vote in an election for Federal office on the ground that the individual is subject to guardianship, unless a court of competent jurisdiction issues a court order finding by clear and convincing evidence that the individual cannot communicate, with or without accommodations, a desire to participate in the voting process.

While applicable only to federal elective office, the provision would have the practical effect of bending the curve dramatically even in state and local elections, bringing guardianship law closer to contemporary scientific knowledge of capacity, and helping to ensure that every American retains the right to vote. In a time when the franchise is increasingly under siege, small advances represented by this kind of legislation make a huge difference.

A 2017 table of state laws.  (See a recent change in Wisconsin.)

Carli Teproff at The Miami Herald:

At 22, Tyler Borjas had a job, a bank account and got around using Uber and Metrorail.
But he couldn’t legally vote, buy a house or make travel plans. That’s because a Miami-Dade court deemed Borjas, who has autism, “incapacitated,” and placed him under guardianship.

”I want to make my own decisions,” Borjas, who is now 25, said. “I want my rights back.”

Guardianship essentially stripped Borjas of his rights, meaning he couldn’t legally make decisions for himself, said Viviana Bonilla López, an attorney working with Disability Rights Florida, an advocacy group.

Bonilla López has set out to change that for Borjas and other adults by promoting a mechanism known as Supported Decision Making instead of guardianship. If Borjas succeeds, it’s believed he’ll be only the second person in the state to reclaim his rights back in this manner.

National Disability Voter Registration Week

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists"

Why NDVRW? 

Every year, the REV UP Campaign coordinates National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW) to increase the political power of people with disabilities by sharing resources and getting folks registered to vote. This year, NDVRW is July 13-17. With an estimated 35 million people with disabilities eligible to vote in 2020, we invite state and local organizations to participate in NDVRW in order to raise the disability voice and civic participation across the country!

COVID-19 Update: Although some states are slowly opening up, we are focusing on supporting the disability vote through digital organizing techniques throughout NDVRW!

Getting Involved in NDVRW

Share our Online Voter Registration Portal! Direct folks to AAPD’s custom registration portal at weall.vote/aapd, powered by When We All Vote, where they can register to vote in just a few minutes.

Host a Virtual Event! Host a virtual event to help voters in your state understand the rules, disability voting rights, voting options, safety-protocols, and key dates for the 2020 elections.

Organizing Virtual Text-banking! AAPD has partnered with When We All Vote to use OutVote, an app that helps individuals to use texting to get out the vote among their friends and family. Check out instructions for using OutVote in our NDVRW 2020 toolkit.

Activate your Social Media! Use the power and reach of social media to share our online voter registration portal weall.vote/aapd, motivate your network to register and vote, and inform voters on your state’s election rules and dates.
Use our NDVRW 2020 Toolkit! Our Toolkit provides key resources and info to help you engage with NDVRW!

Access the NDVRW 2020 Materials

NDVRW Resources & Tools

Getting people with disabilities registered to vote is the first step to increasing the political power of people with disabilities. Below are links to tools and resources to help you get involved in NDVRW 2020:

NDVRW Signup Form If you are planning voter registration events or other activities, please keep the REV UP Campaign updated on your efforts!
NDVRW 2020 Toolkit The NDVRW Toolkit includes a guide on how to organize virtual voter registration events, sample social media posts and graphics, and more.
NDVRW Digital Organizing Training On June 10th, AAPD and When We All Vote hosted a training on how to get folks registered through digital organizing strategies.
Online Voter Registration Portal (weall.vote/aapd) Share this online voter registration on social media, on your websites, in your email signature, in newsletters, and more.
NDVRW Press Release Template Use this press release template to share your involvement in NDVRW 2020 in your state and communities.
NDVRW Social Media Graphics Especially during COVID-19, Social Media is an incredibly powerful tool for encouraging people to register and vote.
NDVRW Partners Supporting Organizations will have their name and logo listed on the REV UP website to show the vast support behind the Campaign.
NDVRW Flyer Use this flyer to share information about NDVRW with your partners.
NDVRW Spanish Materials*

*Special thanks to María Vicky Díaz, Dr. Sara M. Acevedo, and Dr. Federico Waitoller with the National Coalition for Latinxs with Disabilities/Coalición Nacional para Latinxs con Discapacidades (CNLD), and Laura Marquez from Paso Del Norte Children’s Development Center for providing Spanish translation.

Additional Ways to Participate in National Disability Voter Registration Week
Write letters to the editor or Op-Eds and engage local radio or TV stations on the growing efforts by the disability community. Check out The Op-Ed Project for tips on writing a compelling Op-Ed!

Organize a candidate town hall event or distribute candidate questionnaires to engage candidates with people with disabilities in your community. As a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization you must send an invitation to all candidates. Nonprofit VOTE offers additional resources and guides on staying nonpartisan.

Connect with other disability rights and voting rights organizations in your area to partner on events and initiatives during NDVRW.

Ask your Governor, Mayor, City Council, County Commissioner, or State Representative to issue a proclamation declaring July 13-17, 2020, National Disability Voter Registration Week. Find a draft Proclamation here and send any Proclamations you receive to programs@aapd.com!

Find out how other organizations are engaging in NDVRW on our State Resources and Events Page.

Resources from Previous NDVRW’s

2019 REV UP National Organizing Call Recap2018 REV UP National Organizing Call Recap2018 Joint Statement of Support from Senators Dole and Harkin2018 REV UP Graphics

Elizabeth Warren on Disability Issues

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns.  Democratic candidates are addressing the issue in some detail, recognizing that many voters have a connection.

Elizabeth Warren has very detailed positions.

On Disability Rights:

Elizabeth’s first job out of college was teaching students with speech and learning disabilities at a public school. This role reaffirmed for her how important it is to live a life of independence and dignity. She will always stand up for the policies that help make that possible for all Americans, including Americans with disabilities.
In Elizabeth’s time in the Senate, she has fought tirelessly for people with disabilities, knowing that all areas of policy affect the community. She has championed legislation to increase accessibility across employment, education, health care, community inclusion and engagement, and housing because she knows our democracy is stronger when it is reflective of all of us.

EMPLOYMENT

Elizabeth has always believed in the principle of equal pay for equal work, but today, it is perfectly legal for an employer to hire workers with disabilities and pay them below what they pay workers without disabilities for doing the same work. They can even apply for permission to pay workers with disabilities below the federal minimum wage. It’s a disgrace.

Individuals with disabilities should have the opportunity to reach their full potential in competitive and integrated employment settings, and they should receive fair wages for their work. For these reasons, Elizabeth has worked to end the subminimum wage, and has pressured the Department of Labor to more aggressively crack down on the abuse of 14(c) certificates. This policy enforc

es harmful and inaccurate stigmas, and we should phase it out in a responsible way.
In order to provide a path to good-paying jobs, we also need to do everything we can to ensure that all students, regardless of means or background, have access to career training. That’s why Elizabeth introduced and passed the Free Career and Technical Education for High School Students Act in order to direct federal funding streams toward reducing or eliminating out-of-pocket costs associated with Career and Technical Education programs for high school students, including students with disabilities. If classes that prepare high school students for college are free, then career training classes that prepare students to enter the workforce should also be free. And she has introduced bipartisan legislation that would expand education savings accounts to cover apprentices’ out-of-pocket costs, such as for equipment and books.

EDUCATION

Elizabeth is a fierce advocate for high-quality education for all children. That is why she is a proud co-sponsor of the Keep Our Promise to America’s Children and Teachers Act, which would fully fund the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act and make sure education is a priority in the federal budget.

Elizabeth believes we must make sure our public education system creates opportunity for all our kids, including students with disabilities. That’s why Elizabeth passed an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization to ensure that students with disabilities are able to use assistive technology to access assessments. It’s also why she introduced the bipartisan AIM HIGH Act to create guidelines for accessible instructional materials on college campuses. Elizabeth recognizes that many students face special obstacles to their education, and will always stand up for programs that help to level the playing field.

Elizabeth also knows that the fight for equal opportunity in education does not end in high school and believes we must make sure people with disabilities are not held down by student loan debt. That’s why she has called for something truly transformational – up to $50,000 in student loan debt cancellation for 42 million Americans. This will have a profound impact on the disability community, which has a 25% higher default rate on student loans than the rest of borrowers.

And to make sure we never have another student loan crisis, Elizabeth is also calling for universal free two-year and four-year public college and technical school. Her plan would make college truly universal – not just in theory, but in practice – by making higher education of all kinds more inclusive and available to every single American, including people with disabilities, without the need to take on debt to cover costs. Additionally, she has introduced legislation to prohibit the Treasury Department from forcing borrowers who are severely disabled from paying taxes on student loans that have been canceled, which would save them thousands of dollars.

HEALTH CARE

Health care is a basic human right. That’s why Elizabeth supports Medicare for All, which would give every single person in this country a guarantee of high-quality health care and access to long-term supports and services. Elizabeth will fight to make sure Medicare for All includes robust coverage for people with disabilities and people with complex care needs – and she won’t back down when it comes to making sure high-quality health care is there for those who need it.

Elizabeth will also fight to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. Right now, Washington works great for the big pharmaceutical companies, but it’s not working for people who are trying to get a prescription filled. Elizabeth’s Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act would allow the government to manufacture a generic drug when no company is manufacturing a drug, only one or two companies is manufacturing the drug and prices are spiking, there is a shortage of the drug, or the medicine is essential and faces limited competition and high prices. She supports international reference pricing, safely importing drugs from other countries, and allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. And she will work to block anticompetitive behavior in the health care industry and crack down on a range of practices that brand-name drug manufacturers use to keep prices high.

In addition to the right to physical health care, Elizabeth believes in affordable, high-quality mental health services. Despite the widespread need for these services, many Americans are denied coverage. That’s why Elizabeth introduced the Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act, which would hold insurers accountable for providing adequate mental health benefits and ensure Americans receive the protections they are guaranteed by law. She has also worked to hold the Health and Human Services Department accountable for improving insurers’ compliance with mental health parity laws through an online consumer parity portal.

Additionally, Elizabeth is deeply committed to both protecting and expanding Social Security benefits, which have not nearly kept up with the rising costs of health care, housing, food, and energy, for Americans with disabilities. After shrinking budgets forced the Social Security Administration to cut thousands of jobs and close more than 60 offices, leading to outrageously long wait times that left many Americans with disabilities struggling to get their benefits, Elizabeth fought to get a $480 million increase for the agency - the first increase to its operating budget in almost a decade.

COMMUNITY INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT

People with disabilities are often excluded from participating in their communities due to inaccessibility and lack of supports. Elizabeth realizes that removing barriers to participation is essential for people with disabilities to ensure true equality. For Elizabeth, there is no better place to start removing those barriers than in our efforts to secure our democracy.

In Elizabeth’s election security plan, she is clear that security and accessibility are not mutually exclusive. Elizabeth calls for the federal government to provide every polling location with accessible ballot machines for people with disabilities and to conduct research on how to improve voting security and accessibility for all people. In addition to calling for Election Day to be made a federal holiday, Elizabeth supports requiring a minimum of 15 early voting days to ensure that those who rely on public transit and direct support professionals, both of which could be interrupted on holidays, have ample time to vote.

Just as she knows advancements in voting security and accessibility require a federal government investment, Elizabeth also knows it takes a strong investment in medical innovation to further expand the assistive technologies available to people with disabilities. Over the past fifty years, the American system of medical innovation has transformed the health of billions of people around the world. It didn’t just appear overnight as if by magic – it is the end result of generations of huge taxpayer investments in the National Institutes of Health. That’s why Elizabeth has fought tooth and nail against cuts to the NIH budget. She has also introduced the National Biomedical Research Act and the Medical Innovation Act to restore our investments in the NIH’s cutting-edge scientific research and bring us closer to critical health care breakthroughs.

Elizabeth knows that assistive technologies only help the disability community if they are affordable. That’s why Elizabeth supports Medicare for All and why she has reached across the aisle to craft and pass bipartisan legislation guaranteeing affordable, over-the-counter hearing aids for those with mild to moderate hearing loss. And why she introduced the Audiology Patient Choice Act, a bipartisan bill that ensures people with disabilities on Medicare have access to a full range of hearing and balance health care services provided by licensed audiologists.Direct Support Professionals provide essential support to people with disabilities to help them lead meaningful, productive, and independent lives. In the United States, there is an increasing shortage of DSPs. That’s why, every year since Elizabeth entered the Senate, she has co-sponsored a resolution that recognizes the important work DSPs do and more recently called on the Department of Labor to collect data specific to DSPs. She has also cosponsored the Disability Integration Act, which would require insurance providers that cover long-term supports and services to allow people with disabilities to access home and community-based services and lead an independent life.

HOUSING

Ensuring that people with disabilities can live full, independent lives means we must also invest in affordable housing. Elizabeth’s proposal to confront America’s housing crisis --the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act -- would build or rehab 3.2 million new units, bringing rents down by 10%, and ensuring that people with disabilities and their caregivers can afford to live in the communities that they call home. Her planl also expands the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination against people for gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or source of income, including government assistance, or housing vouchers.

Elizabeth knows that policy is personal, and as president, she will always fight for the full inclusion of people with disabilities.

On Education:

My plan also lives up to our collective commitments to students with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act protects the civil rights of students with disabilities by guaranteeing their right to a free and appropriate public education. When Congress passed the original version of IDEA in 1975, it promised to cover 40% of the additional costs of educating students with disabilities.

But today, Congress is failing spectacularly in meeting that obligation. Last year, the federal government covered less than 15% of these costs. That failure has shifted the burden to states and school districts that simply can’t find the money to make up the difference. The result? Students with disabilities are denied the resources they need to fulfill their potential.

This will end under my administration. I’ll make good on the federal government’s original 40% funding promise by committing an additional $20 billion a year to IDEA grants. I will also expand IDEA funding for 3-5 year olds and for early intervention services for toddlers and infants.

...
I am also committed to ending discrimination against all students. My administration will strictly enforce the right of students with disabilities to a free and appropriate public education. I will push to build on Obama-era policies by writing new rules to help ensure that students of color with disabilities are treated fairly when it comes to identifying disabilities, classroom placement, services and accommodations, and discipline. I am opposed to the use of restraint and seclusion in schools, and I will push for sufficient training to ensure student, teacher, and staff safety. I will protect students’ right to be educated in the least restrictive environment. And in light of the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, which affirmed the right of every child to have the chance to meet challenging objectives, my Department of Education will help schools and districts develop and implement ambitious individualized education programs for all students with disabilities. This includes upholding the right to a fair and appropriate public education for students in juvenile detention facilities, who are disproportionately students with disabilities.

...
Provide better access to career and college readiness (CCR): As President, I will enact legislation to make public two-year, four-year, and technical colleges tuition-free for all students. We must also ensure that students are able to take advantage of those opportunities and that high schools are funded and designed to prepare students for careers, college, and life. Students from low-income backgrounds are more likely than their wealthier peers to graduate high school without having taken any CCR coursework. Students with disabilities are also less likely to have the opportunity to enroll in CCR courses. I’ve fought hard in Congress to make sure high school students can access career and technical education without paying out of pocket. I’ve also proposed dramatically scaling up high-quality apprenticeship programs with a $20 billion investment that will support partnerships between high schools, community colleges, unions, and companies. I’ll work with the disability community to encourage schools to begin the development of postsecondary transition plans, as required by IDEA, earlier in a student’s school career. I’ll work with states to align high school graduation requirements with their public college admission requirements. And I’ll also direct the Department of Education to issue guidance on how schools can leverage existing federal programs to facilitate education-to-workforce preparedness.

A Voting Barrier Falls in Wisconsin

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the political participation of people with autism and other disabilities.

Molly Beck at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Voters with disabilities will no longer be required to state their name and address — a requirement advocates for people with disabilities said was humiliating and even preventing some from casting ballots.

Gov. Tony Evers signed into law a bill Friday that removes the requirement for people who are unable to say their name and address because of a disability. Instead, poll workers will rely on the voter's identification card and allow another person accompanying the voter to say the voter's name and address.

“We have to make sure voting is fair and accessible, and that everyone has the opportunity to cast their vote at the ballot box,” Evers said in a statement.

During the 2018 general election, more than six people contacted Disability Rights Wisconsin — an advocacy group for people with disabilities — about incidents during which voters who were deaf or had a developmental disability could not vote or were shamed by poll workers.

We have to make sure voting is fair and accessible, and that everyone has the opportunity to cast their vote at the ballot box. Proud to sign AB 168 today to remove barriers at the ballot box for folks with disabilities. pic.twitter.com/V1Ea3jEwKp

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) November 22, 2019

Disability Voter Turnout

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the political participation of people with autism and other disabilities.

Lisa Schur and Douglas Kruse of Rutgers: Fact sheet: Disability and Voter Turnout in the 2018 Elections

Key points:

• Voter turnout surged by 8.5 points in 2018 among citizens with disabilities relative to the 2014 midterm elections. The surge, though, was slightly larger among citizens without disabilities (11.9 points), resulting in a 4.7 point gap in voter turnout between citizens with and without disabilities in 2018.
• The increased turnout among people with disabilities occurred across all disability types and demographic categories—gender, race/ethnicity, age group, and region.
• 14.3 million citizens with disabilities reported voting in the November 2018 elections.
• Employed people with disabilities were just as likely as employed people without
• disabilities to vote, suggesting that employment helps bring people with disabilities into mainstream political life.
• If people with disabilities voted at the same rate as people without disabilities who have the same demographic characteristics, there would be about 2.35 million more voters. 

These figures are based on analysis of data from the federal government’s Current
Population Survey Voting Supplement for November 2018, which has a sample size of 88,749. The computations were made using six disability questions introduced on the Current Population Survey in 2008.