(MADISON, WI.)–Today marks the first day of National Disability Voter Registration Week (July 16-20). More than 340,000 people with disabilities in Wisconsin are eligible to vote, yet people with disabilities continue to face barriers that keep their participation rates below the general population, according to the Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition. To shed light on this issue and promote the Wisconsin Primary Election Aug. 14 and the Wisconsin General Election Nov. 6, the City of Madison and the City of Milwaukee have officially declared July 16 to 20 Disability Voter Registration Week and will be holding press events on Tuesday, July 17. Madison’s event will be held at 8 a.m. at the City County Building at 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd; Milwaukee’s event will be held at IndependenceFirst at 540 S 1st Street at 8:30 a.m. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and learn more about accessible voting. The week is part of the “REV UP” campaign: a national, nonpartisan effort to increase the political participation of people with disabilities. The “REV UP” campaign is coordinated nationally by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), and focuses on voter registration, education, and engagement. The disability vote increases when we also consider families, friends, advocates, educators, providers, and other individuals that interact with people with disabilities, and vote with our issues in mind. The disability community has a huge stake in the results of the local, state, and federal elections this November, however, many do not make it to the polls. There is incredible potential for the disability community to bring disability issues to the forefront of this election, and to hold elected officials accountable. Justin Dart, father of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) says, “Vote as if your life depended on it, because it does.”
(Aaron Harper,WJNR,WOBE,WHTO)
aaronharper22@gmail.com