UPDATE (2/22, 5:12pm ET): Due to a wind advisory in the Houston area the event has been postponed to Thursday 2/25.
On Tuesday, February 23rd at TIRR Memorial Hermann (1333 Moursund St. Houston, Texas) the American Association of People with Disabilities(AAPD), along with Texas Disability Project, Disability Rights Texas, and other disability advocacy groups will launch the national REV UP America – Make the DISABILITY VOTE Count campaign.
The disability community just celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a law which has brought about historic change in the United States resulting in integration into community life, more accessibility, and a higher quality of life for millions of Americans with disabilities.
The REV UP Campaign recognizes that there is a DISABILITY VOTE and that people with disabilities and our supporters will vote for candidates that address issues of concern to the disability community and who reach out to get that vote. Disability Rights to Voting Power follows the evolution of other civil rights movements.
REV UP stands for Register, Educate, Vote, Use, (your) Power. This REV UP event promotes the growing influence of the DISABILITY VOTE nationwide. REV UP will also work to ensure access to the polls on Election Day for Americans with disabilities.
The Road to Freedom ADA Bus will be at the REV UP kickoff event. The bus just completed the ADA Legacy Tour, logging more than 23,000 miles and making more than 115 stops in 33 states designed to raise awareness and build excitement around the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“For people with disabilities, the Americans with Disabilities Act has had a dramatic influence on the lives of people with disabilities, making the environment more accessible and enabling us to be more independent; but there is still a lot of work to be done,” says Lex Frieden, a chief architect of the ADA, director, Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) program at TIRR Memorial Hermann, and professor of biomedical informatics and rehabilitation at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). According to the Rutgers University School of Labor and Management study, voters with disabilities made up the second largest minority voting bloc in the 2012 election.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) serves as the national coordinator of the REV UP Campaign. AAPD curates information on the election as it relates to people with disabilities while also offering resources on registering to vote and ensuring your polling place is accessible. As the national coordinator of the REV UP Campaign AAPD convenes our partners in the disability community to increase engagement in the political process, show our political power, and make the disability vote count; connects people with disabilities to state and national voting activities and resources on registering to vote, learning about candidates, and the accessibility of the voting process; and is the catalyst that ignites the power of the disability vote.
“AAPD is providing national coordination of the REV UP Campaign to get more individuals with disabilities involved in the political process and to the polls, so less of our elected officials and those running for office continue to ignore the interests of the disability community and the power of the disability vote,” says Helena Berger, President & CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities. “With 15.6 million Americans with disabilities voting in 2012, more than the Latino and Asian vote combined, the sleeping giant of American politics is asleep no longer,” says Berger.
For more information on the REV UP America – Make the DISABILITY VOTE Count campaign, visit www.aapd.com/REVUP. Join the discussion online using #REVUP and help make the DISABILITY VOTE count!
* * *
The American Association of People with Disabilities is a convener, connector, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities.