National Disability Voter Registration Week aims to increase the political power of people with disabilities by sharing resources and getting folks registered to vote. In the last election, an estimated 38 million people with disabilities were eligible to vote, and NDVRW organizers want to continue to raise the disability voice and civic participation across the country in 2021 and beyond.
Mark Your Calendars: National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW) will be held September 13-20, 2021. NDVRW is a national, nonpartisan campaign to register, educate, and prepare voters with disabilities for the 2021 elections and beyond. NDVRW is coordinated by the American Association of People with Disabilities’ (AAPD) REV UP Voting Campaign. REV UP stands for Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!
The disability vote has never been more powerful, declaims AAPD. Despite being twice as likely to face voting barriers as people without disabilities, AAPD says disabled voters have continued to demonstrate their political power each election. Last election, in the midst of a pandemic, over 17 million people with disabilities cast their ballots. As the REV UP network, Crip the Vote, and other movements build the power of the disability vote, AAPD believes it can close the 6% turnout gap between voters with and without disabilities.
Following an election with record turnout, 48 states legislatures across the country introduced, and some passed, anti-voting legislation that limits access to the ballot for disabled voters, voters of color, and disabled voters of color. Even before this wave of anti-voting bills, people with disabilities faced barriers, discrimination, and isolation that kept many from participating in democracy. This NDVRW, AAPD and its partners are focusing on the message that the vote of the disability community is powerful. 1-in-4 adults in America lives with a disability, and AAPD believes more of them need to participate in elections. Together, AAPD and the disability community can hold leaders accountable to make decisions that ensure people with disabilities have equal access to employment, community living, education, transportation, healthcare, and more.
Justin Dart, father of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), said it best: “Vote as if your life depended on it, because it does.”
There are many ways to participate in NDVRW. To get involved and access resources, visit this voting page of the AAPD website.
