For Immediate Release: June 18, 2020
Contact: Keri Gray, kgray@www.aapd.com
WASHINGTON, DC –
The disability vote could be a winning factor in Battleground States for the 2020 election. Attend POWER: The Disability Vote, a virtual Summit on June 22 and 23 and learn why this is likely.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), one of the nation’s leading cross-disability organizations, is producing this national, non-partisan Disability and Election Virtual Summit on Monday, June 22 and Tuesday, 23 from 12 Noon – 3:45 ET. There is no cost to attend.
In addition to featuring groundbreaking results from the 2019 Rutgers University Study indicating an 8.5% surge in the disability vote, expert panelists include US Senator Tammy Duckworth (D -Ill), former Senator Tom Harkin, original key sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and AAPD Board Chair Ted Kennedy, Jr. Many disability rights organizations, including the National Disability Rights Network, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, SignVote, and numerous REV UP coalitions will come together to highlight issues regarding voter suppression and mobilizing voters with disabilities. Representatives from civil rights and voting organizations like Voto Latino, Human Rights Campaign, Supermajority, and When We All Vote will also contribute to the Summit.
“We’re facing an election where voters with disabilities could determine the outcome,” declared AAPD President/CEO Maria Town. “This surge in turnout among our increasingly visible, vocal, and active voting bloc is only one factor. We’re also thinking about how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant gaps, weaknesses, and unconscious systemic bias in public systems on which people with – and without – disabilities rely. If elected officials, including the President, want to be elected, and expect our votes, they must address and help resolve our issues. Disability rights are civil rights.”
AAPD coordinates REV UP (Register, Educate, Vote, Use your Power), a state- by-state disability vote organizing coalition. REV UP partners are currently active in over 30 states, including five out of the six Battleground States (Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin).
With over 35 million eligible disabled voters in 2020, the disability vote can be a key factor deciding the outcome of the 2020 election. Join the conversation and learn of the expanding power of disabled voters. Register for POWER: The Disability Vote through this link.
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AAPD is a convener, connecter, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities. As one of the leading national cross-disability civil rights organizations, AAPD advocates for the full recognition of rights for the over 60 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD’s programs and initiatives have been effective in mobilizing the disability community through communications advocacy; cultivating and training new and emerging leaders with disabilities through leadership development programs; increasing the political participation of Americans with disabilities and elevating the power of the disability vote through the REV UP (Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!) Campaign; and advancing disability inclusion in the workplace through the Disability Equality Index (DEI) — the nation’s leading corporate benchmarking tool for disability equality and inclusion. To learn more about AAPD, visit www.aapd.com.
AAPD’s REV UP Campaign aims to increase the political participation of the disability community while also engaging candidates and the media on disability issues. AAPD works with state and national coalitions on effective, non-partisan campaigns to address the concerns of people with disabilities, eliminate barriers to voting, promote accessibility of voting; educate communities about issues and candidates; promote turnout of voters with disabilities across the country; and engage candidates and the media on disability issues.