Founded by grassroots disabled activists in Texas in 2016, REV UP maintains the core belief that change happens at the local level and that disabled leaders must be at the forefront of building an accessible democracy. REV UP’s commitment to providing community funding through initiatives like the REV UP Small Grants helps ensure that disabled leaders have the resources and support they need to best reach their communities. In 2025, we are proud to be giving out $92,500 in small grants to 17 organizations across 11 states. 

The Transformation Project 

State: South Dakota
Organization Overview: The Transformation Project is a Sioux Falls-based nonprofit that empowers transgender and gender non-conforming individuals across South Dakota. Through programs like Marty’s Closet, name-change assistance, support groups, and South Dakota’s first LGBTQ2S+ center, Prism, the organization fosters understanding, celebrates identity, and builds community for TGNC people and their families.

Project Summary: In 2025, The Transformation Project will launch “Neurodivergent Voices Count,” a civic engagement series specifically for neurodivergent LGBTQ2S+ youth ages 16–24. Hosted at the Prism Community Center, the four-part workshop series will use sensory-friendly activities, voting simulations, and peer-led discussion to build confidence and voting literacy in a safe and affirming space. The goal is to engage 50 youth, register 20 new voters or pledges, and develop accessible civic materials in South Dakota where few tailored resources currently exist. Youth advisors will help lead the planning, and all events will incorporate accessibility tools including stim kits, quiet rooms, visual aids.

Washington Civil & Disability Advocate (WACDA)
State: Washington
Organization Overview: Based in Seattle, WACDA is a legal and civil rights nonprofit that centers disability justice through advocacy, education, and free legal services. WACDA helps people with disabilities navigate barriers to access and dignity, while advocating for policy change across Washington state.

Project Summary: WACDA will host Seattle’s first disability-centered citywide candidate forum in 2025, connecting people with disabilities, their families, and caregivers directly with those running for Mayor, City Attorney, and City Council. The event will be co-created with at least 15 disabled community members who will help craft the candidate questions and conduct community outreach. The forum will also feature on-site voter registration, accessibility support (ASL, captions, hybrid format), and live polling to gather feedback. By educating both voters and candidates, the project builds political power in communities historically excluded from civic decision-making.

Keystone Progress Education Fund

State: Pennsylvania
Organization Overview: Keystone Progress Education Fund is a long-standing leader in progressive civic education, digital organizing, and coalition building across Western Pennsylvania. Their work focuses on reaching disabled people, incarcerated individuals, and people seeking comprehensive reproductive healthcare, particularly in under-resourced urban and rural areas of Western Pennsylvania. 

Project Summary: In 2025, Keystone Progress will bring voting access directly into Skilled Nursing Facilities, spaces where disabled residents often face compounded barriers to civic participation. The program will train staff, residents, and disability advocates on how to support voter registration and absentee ballot access, using a replicable curriculum that includes a handbook, accessible slide deck, and hands-on training. With a goal of training six voter advocates, implementing the program in at least three facilities, and supporting over 70 residents with voting, the project addresses a critical equity gap. 

BLAC–SWPA (Black Liberation Autonomous Collective of Southwestern PA)
State: Pennsylvania
Organization Overview: BLAC–SWPA is the first youth-led nonprofit in the region founded by and for Black trans youth. Focused on civic education, mutual aid, and healing justice, they support queer and disabled Black youth who have been excluded from traditional systems and often face multiple layers of harm and disenfranchisement.

Project Summary: BLAC–SWPA’s 2025 project, “From Isolation to Influence,” is a three-part series of civic healing gatherings for Black trans disabled youth. Each trauma-informed event will combine voter education, movement, creative expression, and peer support. The goal: to transform shame into solidarity, and political isolation into empowered participation. The series aims to reach at least 75 youth, with over half reporting increased civic confidence and at least 30 committing to vote or organize in the future. Events will offer  ASL, transportation support, and sensory kit, and will be spaces rooted in joy, healing, and disability justice. Led by youth with lived experience, this is the first project of its kind in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

One Heart One Vision Inc.
State: New York
Organization Overview: One Heart One Vision (OHOV) is a grassroots nonprofit led by blind/low-vision and disabled women, dedicated to empowering blind/low vision and disabled women from underserved neighborhoods across the country. The organization provides community services, social connection, education, and disability advocacy.

Project Summary: In 2025, OHOV is launching GIVE – Girls Involved in Voter Registration and Education, a civic engagement program for blind and disabled girls ages 15–25. The GIVE program trains young women to lead voter registration drives, host outreach events, and educate their peers on the voting process using both in-person and virtual platforms. GIVE events will be held monthly throughout NYC, targeting high schools, colleges, and youth-centered disability spaces. The project aims to register 100 disabled youth voters and will use mentorship, social media campaigns, and accessible swag to connect with Gen Z. The initiative is entirely led by disabled women and girls.

Denison University – DU Votes
State: Ohio
Organization Overview: DU Votes is a nonpartisan, student-led civic engagement organization at Denison University, committed to expanding voter access, education, and turnout. In partnership with the Denison Disability Advocacy Association (DDAA), the League of Women Voters, and other community groups, DU Votes is working to build an inclusive democracy on campus and across Licking County.

Project Summary: For Disability Voting Rights Week (Sept 8–12, 2025), DU Votes will launch a campus- and county-wide campaign to educate, register, and empower voters with disabilities. Programming will include educational tabling, a public panel on disability voting rights, and voter registration drives in collaboration with local partners like the Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Voter resource kits with accessible information will be distributed throughout the year. The campaign aims to register 120 new voters (students and residents) and educate over 550 individuals on voting access and disability rights. Panels, pamphlets in braille, closed captioning, and ASL interpretation (budget allowing) will ensure accessibility for all.

Metropolitan Asian Deaf Association (MADA)
State: New York
Organization Overview: The Metropolitan Asian Deaf Association (MADA) works to empower and preserve Asian cultural values within the Deaf community in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area and beyond. MADA rallies Deaf and Hard of Hearing Asian-American and immigrant communities within the Greater New York area and beyond for civic engagement, accessibility, and racial justice.

Project Summary: Building on its 2024 efforts, MADA will expand voter outreach and education to Deaf and Disabled Asian Americans in NYC and other major cities. Their 2025 project will include bilingual ASL voter education workshops, in-person registration drives at events like the Deaf Asian Street Festival, and social media campaigns featuring GOTV videos in ASL with captions. With a goal of registering at least 25 new voters, the project will also provide culturally relevant support to new voters and partner with nonprofits serving Deaf and BIPOC communities. The team of Deaf ASL users will ensure that language access, accessibility, and cultural context are central to every phase of the work.

CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities at York College (CCSD@York)
State: New York
Organization Overview: CCSD@York is a student-led group advocating for the rights and inclusion of disabled students at York College, CUNY. Located in Jamaica, Queens, the organization engages BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and low-income students with disabilities through civic education and peer organizing.

Project Summary: For the first time, York College will see a campus-wide disability-led civic campaign. CCSD@York will host a campus-wide, disability-led civic campaign called “Vote Without Limits.” During October 2025, the initiative will include voter registration drives, peer-led workshops, and a disability-centered candidate forum. The campaign aims to register at least 50 new voters and increase political participation among disabled young adults in Southeast Queens. 

Disability Rights & Resources
State: North Carolina
Organization Overview: Disability Rights & Resources is a Center for Independent Living based in Charlotte, NC, serving people with disabilities across Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union counties. The cross-disability organization works to support people with disabilities in living, working, and participating in the community.

Project Summary: Building on a successful 2024 project, Disability Rights & Resources will expand its accessible voting education through a three-part training series. The series will include a “Know Your Voting Rights” workshop designed in plain language for youth with intellectual disabilities, poll worker training in partnership with the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, and a new “NC Disability Voting Rights” card for voters to carry. The project will also include taking summer youth program participants (Summer of Independent Living or SOIL) on a field trip to the local Board of Elections office to practice casting their vote on either standard or accessible voting machines, depending on their individual needs.  

Project READY
State: New York
Organization Overview: Project READY is a grassroots nonprofit serving Asian American families and individuals with developmental disabilities across the New York metro area. Founded by and for families, the organization provides advocacy, education, and inclusive support to empower the community and ensure equal access to civic life.

Project Summary: Project READY is launching the Asian American Disability Voting Coalition, the first of its kind in New York. Through the coalition, partners across the state will lead bilingual voter education sessions titled “You Can Vote Too!” focused on correcting misconceptions about voting rights for people with developmental disabilities. Digital outreach, social media campaigns, and multilingual materials will support widespread civic participation—reaching over 1,300 individuals. The coalition’s culturally and linguistically relevant approach aims to break down barriers to voting for one of the most underserved communities in the disability rights movement.

League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford
State: Illinois
Organization Overview: The League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford is a nonpartisan organization committed to empowering voters and strengthening democracy through education, advocacy, and community engagement.

Project Summary: The Rockford League will host two major civic engagement events in 2025: Light 4 Democracy during Disability Voting Rights Week and the Your Voice, Your Vote Civic Empowerment Fair in September. These events will center disabled youth, immigrants with disabilities and mixed-status families, and multiply marginalized voters offering accessible voter education, legal rights materials, multilingual support, and trauma-informed outreach to break down participation barriers and support informed, safe civic engagement. The events and materials will include community space and resources that acknowledge the presence of ICE and support voter safety.

LWSC Community Circle
State: Michigan
Organization Overview: LWSC Community Circle is a grassroots, intergenerational Black women-led collective rooted in disability justice, healing, and mutual aid. Based in Detroit, the group serves Black and brown disabled communities, particularly those with invisible disabilities, through political education, restorative gatherings, and affirming spaces that challenge isolation and systemic injustice.

Project Summary: The #WinFromWithin initiative will host monthly community-led, healing-centered gatherings for Black disabled individuals, especially women, nonbinary people, and caregivers. The events will reach people living with invisible disabilities such as chronic illness, neurodivergence, and trauma-related mental health conditions, intentionaly working to engage those who have been disconnected from traditional organizing or civic engagement due to systemic barriers, medical neglect, or stigma. Many in the #WinFromWithin audience may not identify with mainstream disability labels but are deeply impacted by ableism, racism, and state violence. The events will blend political education, storytelling, and joyful cultural connection, creating spaces where people with invisible disabilities can build power, deepen solidarity, and engage in civic life from a place of rest and relationship.

REV UP Georgia
State: Georgia
Organization Overview: REV UP Georgia is a grassroots, disability-led initiative working to build the political power of people with disabilities—particularly in rural communities of color. Primary leadership is disabled people of color in those rural communities. The coalition’s mission is to ensure that every person has the tools, access, and support they need to participate fully in civic life. 

Project Summary: REV UP Georgia will launch the Gaylon Tootle Youth Power & Participation Toolkit as part of its “Are You Vote Ready?” campaign. Co-designed by youth with disabilities from rural communities of color, the project will train 30 Youth Vote Ambassadors to lead accessible, peer-driven outreach efforts. Through pop-up events, digital campaigns, and leadership development, the initiative will uplift a new generation of disabled civic leaders across Georgia.

FEBO Vintage Rare Inc.
State: Georgia
Organization Overview: FEBO Vintage Rare Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots organization focused on expanding voter education and engagement among Black disabled voters in West Savannah and surrounding precincts. Through canvassing, rallies, and resource events, FEBO connects residents with tools to participate in elections and build community power.

Project Summary: FEBO will host its 3rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration in West Savannah, combining cultural festivities with voter education, registration, and rides to the polls. The event will feature music, food, games, and an ADA-accessible environment (including for the first time, ADA-accessible porta pottys). The project will also be providing accessible transportation to older adults and people with disabilities to the polls. Voters will be able to connect to this service at the event. 

DEAFs, Inc. (Deaf Empowering Advocating Florida Southwest, Inc.)
State: Florida
Organization Overview: DEAFs, Inc. is a Deaf-led nonprofit based in Southwest Florida serving the Deaf and DeafBlind community across five counties. Founded in 2023, the organization provides education, advocacy, and communication access with a mission to empower Deaf individuals and foster an inclusive society.

Project Summary: Through their inaugural civic engagement initiative, BUILD UP, DEAFs, Inc. will offer ASL-accessible workshops, one-on-one voter education, and leadership development to increase Deaf and DeafBlind participation in civic life. The project will also recruit and train Deaf and hearing allies to serve as ASL-accessible poll workers and community liaisons. This project introduces the first fully ASL-accessible civic engagement initiative in the region, addressing a critical gap in voter education, accessibility, and leadership for Deaf and DeafBlind individuals. The grant will  fund interpreters, materials, outreach, and training that would otherwise be unavailable to an underserved community.

BAIN, Inc.
State: Georgia
Organization Overview: BAIN, Inc. is a Center for Independent Living serving ten counties in Southwest Georgia. With a focus on disability rights and independent living, BAIN works to remove barriers in transportation, voting, and community access for individuals with disabilities—especially those in rural areas.

Project Summary: BAIN will enhance polling place accessibility by conducting ADA compliance surveys at key polling locations during peak voting times, training poll workers, and offering transportation stipends to 25 voters with disabilities. The initiative will also distribute accessible voter materials to ensure voters with disabilities can cast their ballots during the 2025 election.

The Arc Arizona
State: Arizona
Organization Overview: The Arc of Arizona is a statewide nonprofit dedicated to advancing the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and ensuring their full inclusion in all aspects of community life, including civic participation. With a network of over 10,000 individuals, The Arc Arizona works to advocate with and alongside rural, underserved, and multiply marginalized disability communities

Project Summary: The Arc Arizona will launch a nonpartisan voter engagement campaign tailored to individuals with IDD, particularly those in rural and underserved areas. The campaign includes in-person outreach, digital education, and plain-language materials to help voters navigate registration and access the polls. Grounded in feedback from self-advocates, the initiative will focus on communities often excluded from civic life and will work to educate voters who may now have the right to vote, after Arizona’s law around guardianship and voting changed in 2024.

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On March 25, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” 

This EO proposes many changes to how our elections work, including voter eligibility, maintaining voter registration lists, vote-by-mail processes, which voting machines can be used, and who is responsible for managing elections. AAPD is highly concerned that if any aspects of this EO go into effect, voters with disabilities and other marginalized communities will be disproportionately harmed. Already, disabled voters face increased challenges in accessing their right to vote because of policies and practices that make voting difficult. The policies in this Executive Order are voter suppression tactics – policies that make it harder for many Americans to vote. 

This order comes at a time when Congress is actively considering similar voter suppression laws, such as the SAVE Act. If passed, the SAVE Act would require people to provide documented proof of citizenship in person when registering to vote and updating their voter registration, such as after a move. The SAVE Act would also make it harder for women who changed their last name after marriage.

Millions of voters do not have access to documents that would sufficiently meet the requirements that qualify as “documentary proof of citizenship,” such as U.S. passports. People with disabilities, older adults, and people of color may be especially unlikely to have access to these documents. The requirement of needing to go in person would make voter registration difficult or impossible for many disabled voters who do not have access to accessible transportation, are living in congregate settings, are immunocompromised and cannot go into many public spaces, or for whom the election office may not be accessible. Additionally, the in-person requirement would make it extremely difficult for individual organizers, coalitions, and organizations to host successful voter registration drives. This would lead to communities already excluded by get-out-the-vote efforts being further neglected. 

AAPD urges members of the disability community and our allies to contact their U.S. Representatives and Senators to tell them to vote “no” on the SAVE Act. In response to the Executive Order, AAPD recommends that community members reference the explainers and talking points outlined below. AAPD will monitor this Executive Order’s legal challenges and effects and share opportunities for action with our community

What is an Executive Order?

An Executive Order is a written order from the President of the United States regarding government policy and management. The current President can amend or undo the Executive Orders of previous presidents. When a new president takes office, it is typical that they issue many Executive Orders to begin enacting their agenda. Executive Orders are each assigned a number and typically describe broad policy goals and values, then direct federal departments to take specific actions to implement those policies and values.

Executive Orders do not overrule or supersede laws ratified by Congress. While an Executive Order is enacted without congressional approval, it cannot erase existing laws, force government agencies to take illegal action, or go against current regulations and statutes. Lawsuits can challenge Executive Orders.

Does The President Have the Power to Change Election Law With an Executive Order?

The President has no constitutional authority to change election laws. The Constitution gives that power to the states and Congress. Furthermore, this EO directs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to make many proposed changes. The President does not have the power to direct the EAC, which is an independent, bipartisan agency. 

It is important to note that if this EO does change the voting process, these changes will not happen immediately. Lawsuits can challenge Executive Orders, and this EO will likely face legal challenges. However, this EO may still have an immediate impact because it will likely cause confusion and fear among election officials and voters. 

What Does the Elections Executive Order Say? 

Requires proof of citizenship to vote: The EO proposes requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration. This change would mean that in order to register to vote or even update your voter registration, you would have to show additional documents that prove you are an American citizen. If this were the law, only a few types of documents would be allowed, such as passports. Many common documents would not be accepted; for example, birth certificates are not listed as acceptable documents.

What to Know:

• Millions of American citizens do not have access to the documents required by this law, which means that millions of eligible voters would not be able to participate in our democracy. Disabled people, older adults, voters of color, and voters who may have changed their names, like people who take their spouses’ names when they get married, are less likely to have these documents or have up-to-date documents. 
  • A recent survey found that 20% of people who self-identified as having a disability do not have a current driver’s license, with another 9% having a license but without their current name and address. For people without disabilities, around 6% did not have a license, and 13% did not have a license with their current name and address. 
• The last federal court case that considered a state’s law requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration found that this policy violated the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause.
• A similar requirement was recently passed in New Hampshire, resulting in multiple eligible voters having to jump through extra hoops and, in several cases, being unable to vote at all.
• This policy’s supporters say it is a way to prevent voter fraud. However, noncitizens voting in federal elections is extremely rare, and the process is already heavily monitored.

Changes vote-by-mail procedures: The EO proposes that mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, even if they are postmarked with an earlier date, cannot be counted. 

What to Know:

• Eighteen states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C., accept a mailed ballot if received after Election Day, as long as it was mailed on or before Election Day. 
• This is important because the United States Postal Service sometimes has delays that are not the voters’ fault. Sometimes, it may even take extra time for the ballot to reach the voter before they can fill it out and mail it back to cast their vote. 
• People with disabilities are more likely to vote by mail than non-disabled voters, and because of this, more disabled voters would be at risk of having their vote not counted than non-disabled voters. 
• While it may be tempting to want to be able to know the results of an election faster, we must count every vote. Taking time to make sure every vote is counted means that our system is working. 

Changes voting machine types and certification processes: The EO wants to limit the types of voting machines that polling locations are allowed to use and proposes that the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) re-certify all voting systems. The EO notes an exception for accommodating people with disabilities. The EO also requires that all voting methods have a “voter-verifiable paper record.”

What to Know: 

• The EAC and state election officials already go through many different processes to test voting machines and make sure machines are secure, accessible, and can be used easily and privately.  
• While the EO notes that exceptions for voters with disabilities should be made, singling out how one population votes would threaten the privacy of disabled voters’ ballots and segregate disabled voters. 
• Current law requires polling places to have at least one accessible voting machine. Already, disabled voters frequently face issues casting their ballot when the machine is not correctly set up, poll workers do not know how to use the machine, or if the machine breaks down and there is no other accessible way for them to cast a ballot. If the use of voting machines is further discouraged or limited through this Executive Order, these issues will increase and prevent people from accessing their right to vote. 
• Requiring paper ballots would also end voting system innovation, prohibit the current uses of some Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines, and prohibit electronic ballot delivery and return. DREs provide the most accessible option for voters with disabilities to vote privately and independently. Electronic ballot delivery and return make absentee voting accessible for disabled people and allow uniform and overseas voters to participate in elections—even astronauts at the International Space Station can vote this way.
• The EO describes voter-verifiable paper records as a necessary way for voters to check their ballots, but paper ballots are not accessible to some voters with disabilities, particularly individuals who are blind, have low vision, have difficulty reading or understanding print, or cannot physically hold their ballots.

Attempts to direct an independent bipartisan entity: The EO directs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to carry out and enforce the administration’s proposed policies. 

What to Know:

• What is the Election Assistance Commission (EAC)?
  • The EAC was created in 2000 through the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). It is independent and bipartisan. The EAC has four commissioners, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than two commissioners can belong to the same political party. This is important to ensure that our elections remain fair and unbiased. 
  • The EAC submits reports to Congress and holds public meetings and hearings. The President does not have the power to control what the EAC does. 
  • The EAC also does not have the power to take some of the actions described in the order, such as requiring all states to require documentary proof of citizenship or withholding funding to states that do not follow the EO. This has been upheld in the Supreme Court. 
  • In the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 4, Clause 1), states have the power to set the time, place, and manner of elections. The Constitution also allows Congress to regulate how states use their authority. This has led to many federal voting rights laws like the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act. While states have differences in how people can vote,  laws passed by Congress try to ensure the right to vote is consistent across the country. For example, some states allow for anyone to vote by mail, and some states limit who can vote by mail based on disability and age, but all states allow for some form of absentee or mail-in voting. Over the last 100 years, there have been many Supreme Court cases around the state’s and Congress’s role in elections. 
• What does the EAC do?
  • The EAC works to certify voting equipment and provide funding and resources to states to run elections. 
  • The EAC is also responsible for ensuring that elections are accessible for disabled people. It creates training resources for election officials, tests voting equipment, and researches voting and accessibility.

Establishes federal voter rolls: The EO directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to review state voter registration lists, specifically to verify that no ineligible voters are on them.

What to Know: 

• Under current federal law, state governments and Secretaries of State are responsible for maintaining voter lists. 
• DHS and DOGE likely do not have the authority to review state voter registration lists or remove voters, but attempts to do so could create a lot of fear. 
• States will likely sue if DHS and DOGE attempt to access the state’s voter registration information.

Get Involved

Join our REV UP Campaign to make our democracy accessible and increase civic engagement in the disability community. REV UP stands for “Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!” Subscribe to REV UPdates or join a state or national call. REV UP has coalitions in twenty states and partners in 33, who work year-round to ensure disabled people have access to the ballot. For resources about voting as a person with a disability, visit the AAPD REV UP Campaign website.

The post Election Executive Order Explainer: What’s Going On With Voting Right Now, and How Does It Impact Disabled Voters? appeared first on AAPD.

As we near the end of the 2024 election season, we wanted to take a moment to uplift our resources and highlight the incredible work of our REV UP Voting Campaign. REV UP stands for Register, Educate, Vote, Use Your Power! UP coalitions have held regular meetings throughout the year, collaborating on local and statewide work. Each quarter, we’ve hosted national calls bringing together advocates from around the country. You can find recordings of our calls on AAPD’s YouTube.

Need to Make a Voting Plan? We Can Help!
Make sure to check out our State Guides for Disabled Voters. Once you’ve reviewed the information about voting in your state and your rights as a disabled voter, then download our My Plan to Vote template, and make your voting plan!

Powering the Disability Vote: 2024 
In 2024, we’ve supported on the ground work by awarding close to $470,000 to support the work of 100s of partners and grassroots organizers in 28 states and D.C. This funding provided support for local get out the vote efforts, non-partisan candidate forums, operating stipends to our coalitions to support accessible meetings, and launched a “microgrant” program to boost voter outreach this fall and provided additional funds directly to 13 individual disabled leaders in 11 states who were targeting congregate settings, rural areas, and communities that are often excluded from traditional outreach.

REV UP 2024 Highlights

Here’s an overview of some of our voting work this election cycle, from the local to the national level. And we’re not done yet – find upcoming virtual and in-person disability voting events on our REV UP Mobilize dashboard.

Getting Out the Vote

• Congregate Settings Outreach – Traditional outreach methods often leave out voters living in nursing homes, state operated developmental centers, jails, and hospitals, where disabled voters are underrepresented and face numerous barriers to accessing the ballot. REV UP organizers registered voters in congregate settings in 12 states – California, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

• Community Outreach – This year, REV UP coalitions and members have hosted nearly 300 voter outreach events across 33 states and Washington D.C., including demonstrations of accessible voting machines. During the Disability Voting Rights Week (September 9-13, 2024), we reached 5,000 voters and sent swag boxes to 95 events.

• Expanding Language Access – REV UP grantee National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association created “Know Your Rights” voting brochures in 10 languages.

• Rides to the Polls – In Alabama (request a ride at 256-701-4182, sign up to volunteer), Georgia (request a ride; volunteer to drive), and North Carolina (call 888-938-6832 or email Voting@disabilityrightsnc.org to schedule a ride) our members have provided hundreds of free, accessible rides to the polls during the primaries, early voting, and through November 5.

• Creating Accessible Voting Resources – Access the Vote Florida created videos to demonstrate how to use the accessible voting machines and accessible vote by mail in Florida. REV UP worked with election experts and plain language consultants to create plain language state guides for disabled voters for the primaries and the general election for all 50 states and Washington D.C.

• Educating and Supporting Voters – Through accessible machine demonstrations, mock debates, virtual panels, radio shows, and more, REV UP members have worked to educate and support voters with disabilities. Check out this video highlighting self-advocates in California who became peer voting trainers this year. They hosted mock polling places to help prepare their community for Election Day.

• ProjectReady, a REV UP grantee in NYC, worked to engage and train Asian Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and their caregivers on voting rights – including through creating multilingual resources. Remember, every polling place must have an accessible voting machine, also known as a ballot marking device. Anyone can use it. You do not need to explain your disability.

• Direct Mail Outreach – In Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Tennessee over 150,000 postcards and direct mailers have been sent to voters with disabilities providing accessible election information.

• Recruiting People with Disabilities as Election Workers – In October, AAPD worked with REV UP Texas to train students with intellectual disabilities in Houston Community College’s inclusive  post-secondary education program VAST Academy on how to become election workers. This project was funded by a grant through the Election Assistance Commission.

Increasing Election Accessibility 

• Training Election Workers – In Alabama, California, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas, REV UP members conducted disability and accessibility training for poll workers. In Virginia, this included using artistic activism and making a mini comic book called, “Be an Accessible Democracy Ally.”

• Polling Place Accessibility Audits – In several states, REV UP coalitions and members have met with county officials and conducted accessibility audits of polling places. In August, REV UP grantee Detroit Disability Power conducted accessibility audits at 220 polling sites, with 160-180 site audits planned during early voting and on November 5.

• Advocating for Plain Language Ballot Measures – REV UP Maine received national media coverage of their advocacy to develop legislation for plain language ballot measures. Did you know that most ballot measures are written at a graduate school reading level?

• Improving Data Collection on Election Accessibility – We led comments and a sign on letter in response to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) on their 2024 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS). Twenty organizations joined our comments. The EAVS policy survey collects data on voting policies across states and is an important opportunity to learn more about the disability vote. A challenge to voting rights work is that the laws are different in each state, so this survey is crucial to understanding the landscape from the national level down to the state and local level. We received a personal email from the EAC Director of Research thanking us for our comments and noting that they accepted two of our suggestions for questions around polling place accessibility and voter ID laws.

• Systemic Improvements to Voting Access – The Department of Justice issued new guidance (for the first time in 8 years) on voting rights for people with disabilities and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Department made it clear that the ADA applies to polling places, election websites, and it also applies to absentee and in-person voting experiences. We are hopeful for what it could mean for expanded options for electronic ballot return for people with disabilities. It also emphasizes that people with disabilities have the right to voter assistance, which may be useful in combating the criminalization of voter assistance happening in states.

  Very importantly, the Department of Justice stated that the ADA categorically prohibits states from disqualifying people who have intellectual or mental health disabilities from registering to vote because of their disability or guardianship status of people with disabilities and people under guardianship cannot be held to a higher standard for demonstrating capacity to vote. The Department of Justice thanked AAPD directly for the ways in which our education, voter engagement, and advocacy efforts contributed to this guidance.

Fighting Voter Suppression

• Accessible Absentee Voting – Members of our Wisconsin REV UP partner, the Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition, filed a lawsuit in the spring advocating for the right for people with disabilities to receive and mark ballots electronically, as paper mail ballots are not accessible.

• Protecting the Right to Voter Assistance –

  • REV UP Texas served as a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the state’s 2021 law that restricted voter assistance. Multiple REV UP members testified in the trial about how the law impacted them. This fall (October 2024), a federal court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and affirmed the law violated the Voting Rights Act!

  • REV UP Alabama engaged in legislative advocacy to try to stop a bill that would restrict voter assistance around absentee voting. When the law passed, several coalition partners filed a lawsuit. This fall, a federal court granted an injunction saying that parts of the law were not enforceable. REV UP Alabama members and partners like the Alabama League of Women Voters, who’d been closely following the case, immediately began doing outreach and providing assistance, as requested, making the most of the limited days left for voter registration.

Growing Visibility

• Nonpartisan Candidate Engagement – REV UP Connecticut hosted a hybrid nonpartisan forum with state congressional and senate candidates and surrogates from the Presidential race. REV UP Pennsylvania created a disability candidate survey and received responses from many candidates running for Pennsylvania representative offices and the state Attorney General. REV UP grantee ProjectReady hosted a nonpartisan candidate meet and greet highlighting local races in New York City. In St. Louis, REV UP grantees hosted a disability candidate forum where fourteen candidates for federal, state, and local offices and from five different political parties came to meet people with disabilities and answer questions.

• Celebrating the Disability Vote – REV UP members have used creative tactics from eye-catching “Power the Disability Vote” yard signs in Texas to “Dance the Vote” parties at the statehouse in Missouri to draw attention and joy to the power of our community.

• Disability Voting Rights Week Proclamations – From the county to the state level, REV UP members engaged with their elected officials to designate the official 2024 Disability Voting Rights Week. View the 2024 DVRW proclamations.

• Improving Access to Information for Disabled Voters – We spearheaded efforts to make the presidential debates more accessible, engaging the support of over 90 disability organizations and allies. While CNN failed to respond to our requests regarding the accessibility of their June debate, our advocacy with ACB and their parent company Disney Entertainment resulted in positive outcomes ahead of the September 10 debate. Disney reviewed our recommendations and engaged with us directly to implement changes that increased accessibility for disabled viewers.

• Live ASL Interpretation During Vice Presidential Debate with DPAN TV – AAPD was proud to sponsor our partners at the Deaf Professional Arts Network (DPAN) TV to provide a live ASL interpretation stream during the Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday, October 1. Read our press release announcing this partnership here, and if you missed the debate, you can watch it through DPAN TV here.

• Responding to Ableist Comment by former President Donald Trump – When former President Donald Trump made an inaccurate and ableist statement about Vice President Kamala Harris, AAPD responded with a statement which received coverage on CNN, The View, New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and others, including through disability community lenses in Disability Scoop and Mother Jones.

• Disability Vote Ad – AAPD joined together with regional and local disability organizations to produce a video highlighting the power of the disability vote and calling on political candidates and elected officials to pay attention to the 61 million disabled people across the country and the issues that matter most to us. The 60-second ad, and a 30-second version, will run across digital platforms in critical swing states–Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin–and urges candidates to “fight beside us or get out of the way.” Watch the disability vote ad. 

• Improving Disability Voter Data – AAPD worked with the YWCA to add disability-specific questions to their 2024 National YWomen Vote survey, which provides data on the top priorities and experiences of women heading into the 2024 elections, with a focus on women of color and historically excluded groups. Read the top priorities of disabled women, according to the survey results.

The post What Has REV UP Been Up To In 2024 to Get Out The Disability Vote? appeared first on AAPD.

As Americans begin to vote, AAPD is providing information about some of those key disability issues, and relevant policy changes in those issue areas since the last presidential election. 

For the past several months, voters across the country have been hearing about “Project 2025” and its agenda to reconstruct public policy, affecting everything from housing to healthcare to civil rights and, in many cases, rescinding longstanding laws and regulations protecting marginalized and vulnerable communities. 

Project 2025 is a policy blueprint spanning over 900 pages released by the Heritage Foundation, a prominent non-partisan, non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C., meant to guide the agenda of the next conservative president, should one be elected. 

Project 2025, if enacted, poses threats to the health, well-being, and fundamental civil rights of people with disabilities and other marginalized groups, including women, LGBTQIA+-identifying individuals, people who can get pregnant, and immigrants.

This blog provides a brief overview of how the Project 2025 policy proposals could impact the disability and other marginalized communities:

Medicaid and Home- and Community-Based Services

Many people with disabilities rely on Medicaid to receive home—and community-based services (HCBS) that allow them to live independently. Project 2025 seeks to turn Medicaid into a block grant program or per-capita funding scheme, which would lead to massive funding cuts by limiting Medicaid funding to a formula that does not consider the specific needs of Medicaid recipients. In 2017, disability advocates fought passionately and successfully against turning Medicaid into a block grant program because of the devastating consequences such a change could have on people with disabilities and our families.  

Additionally, Project 2025 proposes limiting HCBS “to serve the most vulnerable and truly needy and eliminate middle-income to upper-income Medicaid recipients” (468) and incorporate work requirements and time limits when receiving Medicaid. This would severely limit the number of Medicaid recipients, many of whom are people with disabilities and who rely on Medicaid and HCBS to live their lives safely, healthily, and independently. 

Furthermore, Project 2025  recommends rolling back caps on prescription drug costs, repeal a law capping insulin at $35 a month for Medicare recipients, and eliminate prohibitions against insurance companies discriminating against individuals with pre-existing conditions.

Nondiscrimination Protection

Project 2025 also advocates for the elimination of many nondiscrimination provisions that protect disabled people, people who are pregnant, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+. 

Specifically, Project 2025 promotes the removal of regulations such as “disparate impact.” “Disparate impact” discrimination is usually not intentional but occurs because of systemic and institutional biases. Project 2025 would eliminate the ability of individuals to seek legal redress for disparate impact and prohibit the government from supporting individuals seeking such relief. This is especially significant for disabled people, as even unintentional discrimination can cause significant harm to disabled people, and structural ableism is baked into many parts of American life. Legal action is not just about justice or righting wrongs – it is one of the main tools through which people with disabilities can highlight the ableism within institutions and make an attempt at improvement, hopefully paving a better path in the future for other disabled people.

Project 2025 calls for the dismantling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives that have been instrumental in helping American institutions address centuries of systemic biases and discrimination and would eliminate the ability of businesses and other institutions to use DEI initiatives to improve outcomes and provide safe, comfortable environments for all.

The proposal recommends eliminating legal protections for people who are pregnant and transgender individuals by allowing government agencies, healthcare facilities, employers, K-12 schools, and institutions of higher education to discriminate against people based on their pregnancy status or gender identity under the guise of “conscience rights” and “religious liberty” while retaining their right to receive federal funding.  

Project 2025 proposes reinforcing a patriarchal, heteronormative vision of family arrangements (p. 451), prioritizing straight, married couples with children and a “working father” as the “ideal” family unit and excluding families with LGBTQIA+-identifying individuals from protections in federal housing policy, child-placement and adoption, and other federal programs. Many disabled people, straight and LGBTQIA alike, cannot get married because of policies that penalize marriage in the receipt of public benefits, like Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. 

The policy blueprint also seeks to restrict the definition of sex to “biological sex as determined at birth,” thereby denying the existence of transgender and nonbinary individuals. Research has shown transgender people are more likely to be disabled at every stage of life, and  such restrictive provisions would harm the disability community as well. 

Reproductive Rights

Project 2025 aims to nearly eliminate access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, by removing access to mifepristone (medication abortion) and the use of telehealth for abortion, both of which are more accessible for people with disabilities. Disabled people get pregnant at the same rate as nondisabled people but are 11 times more likely to die in childbirth.

Furthermore, Project 2025 suggests the federal government recognize “fetal personhood,” giving legal status to fetuses from the moment of conception. Laws that recognize fetal personhood frequently force physicians to make medical decisions not to provide lifesaving care, putting a pregnant person’s life at significantly increased risk

Project 2025 would also jeopardize access to birth control, emergency contraception (Plan B), and fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Access to all of these healthcare treatments is vital for everyone, but especially disabled people who may need medication birth control to regulate their hormones or prevent pregnancy that could endanger their health. Disabled women are more likely to experience infertility and utilize reproductive technologies, like IVF, to have children. 

Education

Project 2025 supports  the elimination of the US Department of Education and critical oversight agencies that ensure school districts comply with protections and regulations for students with disabilities, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Disabled students already have a hard time thriving and being sufficiently supported in school, and there is already a lack of funding for these programs. Without the regulations and oversight provided by the Department of Education, students with disabilities would be completely abandoned and unprotected.

The proposals include provisions that would block grant federal education funding and supercharge the growth of unregulated charter schools and voucher programs that allow students to attend private schools that do not have to abide by federal or state nondiscrimination protections with public funds. Private schools do not have to follow Section 504 or the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Conclusion

The proposals in Project 2025 threaten to roll back decades of necessary federal protections for disadvantaged communities and prioritize an exclusionary vision of America – one that discounts or even actively jeopardizes the lives of those who are disabled, non-male, LGBTQIA+, Black, brown, or indigenous persons of color, and multiply marginalized members of these communities.

Further Reading

This is not an exhaustive list of Project 2025’s policy proposals. We’ve compiled additional overviews from several of our partner organizations. Each of the organizations who have prepared the below resources are nonpartisan, independent organizations with strong editorial standards and rigorous fact-checking and research processes. 

Helpful information about Project 2025’s potential impact on the disability community can be found in these reports written by: 

• The Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD), of which AAPD is a member: Read CCD’s report here
• Read this analysis from the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) 
• The Center for American Progress (CAP)’s Disability Justice Initiative’s report can be found here

Make a Plan to Vote

Have you voted yet? Be sure to check out AAPD’s state guides for information on accessible voting, and make a plan to vote on or before November 5, 2024. 

The post Election 2024 Policy Brief: Project 2025, People with Disabilities, and Other Marginalized Communities appeared first on AAPD.

As Americans begin to vote, AAPD is providing information about some of those key disability issues, and relevant policy changes in those issue areas since the last presidential election. 

Ask any disabled person: for many of us, going to the doctor isn’t just unpleasant, but it can involve discriminatory and demeaning interactions. Access to healthcare has long been a critical issue in presidential elections, and for disabled Americans, the stakes are especially high.

Despite legislative improvements delivered by the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, healthcare costs remain extremely high for Americans. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that persistent gaps in access to high-quality, affordable healthcare remain a reality for many and that our healthcare system is not robust  enough to help everyone who needs it. And, research continues to show healthcare professionals are biased against people with disabilities. 

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recently updated existing regulatory law to ensure that people with disabilities are treated fairly when seeking medical care and when interacting with human and social services entities like child welfare agencies. For the disability community, the revised Section 504 and Section 1557 are among the most impactful and transformative new regulations to be issued in a long time. 

Section 504 Rules

Section 504 aims to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities in government-funded programs or activities. Section 504 covers all health and human services programs and activities funded by HHS, such as hospitals and doctors that accept Medicaid or Medicare or states’ child welfare programs. 

The final rule from the HHS, released on May 1, 2024, is a result of decades of advocacy by people with disabilities and provides more robust protections for the rights of disabled individuals. It also addresses unfair treatment in the healthcare system and sets clear accessibility standards that must be met. 

There are many updates from this new regulation; some are minimal, like changes in definitions, and some are major and life-changing new policies for disabled Americans, including:

• Prohibiting discrimination in medical treatment – Disallows discrimination in administration, criteria, and protocols related to the medical care of individuals with disabilities, including how resources are distributed
  • Prohibits discrimination in organ transplant programs and crisis standards of care
  • Makes sure that medical decisions are not based on the belief that the life of a disabled person has less value than the life of a person without a disability
• Value assessment methods – These tools are used to help decide the proper medical treatment for specific situations and costs. The rule ends the discriminatory application of these methods, or using these methods to deprioritize the medical needs of people with disabilities.
• Accessibility of medical equipment – The new rule adopts the U.S. Access Board’s accessibility standards for medical equipment 
• Web, mobile app, and kiosk accessibility – The rule adopts the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA accessibility standards for all websites and mobile applications that are part of any stage of the healthcare delivery process, as well as self-service kiosks in offices 
• Child welfare programs and activities – The rule prevents parents with disabilities, or prospective parents seeking to adopt, from being discriminated against on the basis of their disability. Too often, child welfare staff assume a parent with a disability, especially BIPOC parents with disabilities, cannot provide adequate parenting. 
  • Clarifies that states cannot remove children simply because the parents take prescribed medications for opioid use disorder
  • Parenting evaluation tools and materials must assess the individual’s parenting ability and not their disability 
• Community integration – helps make sure that people with disabilities get the support they need in the most integrated setting that is appropriate for them
  • Defines “most integrated setting” as environments where people with disabilities can fully engage with everyone in their community and live, work, and receive services as they please with the freedom to make their own choices. This is consistent with other legal standards derived from the Olmstead v. L.C. Supreme Court decision. 
• Updates standards and definitions – 
  • The rule reinforces many of the definitions in the Americans with Disabilities Act, including for service animals and mobility devices
  • The rule clarifies that term “disability” should be interpreted broadly to provide as much coverage as possible. Also, the Department now lists long COVID as a condition that may constitute a disability.

To see what AAPD said about the Section 504 Regulations when they were finalized and released, read our statement here. 

Section 1557 Rules

While Section 504 is disability-specific, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in covered health programs and activities. The second regulation we are summarizing sought to update regulations about Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. 

As AAPD President and CEO Maria Town said in our statement about this regulation, “The protections established in this rule are significant because they provide protection not only for disabled people as a community but especially for multiply marginalized disabled people [who] are the most likely to face discrimination or substandard care when trying to receive healthcare.” 

The Section 1557 final rule, released on April 26, 2024, enables healthcare settings to be safer and fairer for the people who need them most. Below are some of the updates made to the final rule:

• Requires services be provided in the most integrated setting, bringing HHS regulations in line with the Supreme Court decision in Olmsted v. L.C.
• Requires effective communication and reasonable modifications for people with disabilities, which includes accessibility standards for buildings and facilities, as well as ensuring that health programs or services offered electronically (e.g., telehealth) are accessible for people with disabilities
  • Covered entities must provide auxiliary services and language interpretation 
• Covered entities must post notices providing information on how to submit and process complaints and how to ask for accommodations/communication assistance 
• For the first time, federal law includes sex discrimination in its protections in healthcare, including discrimination based on: Sex characteristics (including intersex traits), pregnancy-related conditions (including termination of pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex stereotypes 
• Preempts state laws banning gender-affirming care
• Requires mitigation of harm that can result from the use of patient care decision support tools (such as Artificial Intelligence or algorithms) that use input factors such as color, national origin, sex, age, or disability
• Mandates staff training on implementation and compliance 

Conclusion and Further Reading

To see what AAPD said about the Section 1557 Regulations when they were finalized and released, read our statement here. 

To learn more about these impactful regulations, watch AAPD’s webinar, Strengthening Disability Rights: New Section 504 + 1557 Rules, with our President and CEO Maria Town and HHS’s Director of the Office for Civil Rights, Melanie Fontes Rainer. 

AAPD has been in enthusiastic support of both of these new regulations. We would like to see these rules continue to be implemented, so their benefits for our community can be fully realized. 

Unfortunately, the Attorneys General of 17 states have challenged these new nondiscrimination protections in a recent lawsuit filed in federal District Court. The lawsuit seeks to not only discard the new regulations but also severely undermine the rights of people with disabilities to receive healthcare and other services and to live in the community, rather than being forced to live in a nursing home or institution. AAPD is very alarmed by this challenge to necessary and long-overdue disability nondiscrimination protections. 

Federal regulations can change with new presidential administrations. New administrations sometimes overturn or re-regulate the previous administration’s regulations. 

Have you voted yet? Be sure to check out AAPD’s state guides for information on accessible voting, and make a plan to vote on or before November 5, 2024. 

The post Election 2024 Policy Brief: HHS’s New Section 504 and Section 1557 Regulations appeared first on AAPD.

As Americans begin to vote , AAPD is providing information about some of those key disability issues, and relevant policy changes in those issue areas since the last presidential election. 

One of the major policy priorities for the disability community is home- and community-based services (HCBS) and community integration more broadly.

Many people with disabilities rely on Medicaid for their healthcare and for services that help them live interdependently  in their communities. These services, called home- and community-based services (HCBS), allow individuals to get the care they need while staying in their own homes instead of being forced to move to a nursing home or institution. HCBS can include help with everyday tasks like getting dressed and taking medication, as well as therapy and other types of support. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), over 7 million people get HCBS through Medicaid. In addition, these services are provided by care workers who are often people of color, many of whom have disabilities themselves. The turnover rate is high because employees work long hours, have heavy workloads, and receive low pay and benefits.

There are many barriers to accessing HCBS successfully: a persistent shortage of direct support workers, inadequate funding for services that leaves people receiving fewer hours of services than they need, and years-long waiting lists to access HCBS to name a few. More than 700,000 Americans are estimated to be stuck on HCBS waiting lists, even though they have had a doctor certify that they qualify for and would benefit from receiving care at home. Further, there are many, many more people in need of Medicaid funded HCBS who have not even been able to make a waiting list in there first place. There are many states where people with disabilities are being erroneously dropped off the Medicaid rolls and losing their HCBS as states review Medicaid eligibility after the federal Public Health Emergency was ended.

Thankfully, decades of advocacy from a movement of disability and labor activists fighting to increase access to care have paid off, and recent changes in rules and policies have made great strides toward strengthening the care economy, improving the quality and dignity of jobs in the care workforce, and increasing access to healthcare.

The Biden-Harris administration made a significant achievement by investing $40 billion in the HCBS care workforce as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. States have used these funds to recruit and train new care workers and improve pay and benefits for their existing care workers. Maine used its share of funding to pay well-deserved bonuses to provide financial stability for care workers last summer. 

The Biden-Harris Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services has also worked with disability advocates and issued several new regulations this year to strengthen access to care and services for individuals with Medicaid, improve pay for care workers, and ensure safe staffing levels for long-term care facilities. 

The Managed Care Access, Finance, and Quality Rule (Managed Care Rule) ensures that people with Medicaid don’t have to wait too long to see a doctor. It sets limits on how long they should have to wait for appointments, like 15 days for regular check-ups and women’s health services and ten days for mental health and substance abuse appointments. Ensuring timely access to routine and preventive healthcare is critical for disabled people and helps prevent loss of independence, hospitalization, and even institutionalization. 

The Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services Rule (Access Rule) makes it easier for people to get home- and community-based services by ensuring that the planning process is focused on the individual and their choices. States will also have to set up a system for people to complain if they have problems with their services and to report if they are being mistreated. The rule will also require that 80% of the money Medicaid pays for HCBS goes to those who provide the care rather than administrative costs or profits. Lastly, states will have to have groups of people who receive home care, the workers, and others to help decide how much Medicaid will pay for home care and how much the workers will be paid.

These investments are a big step in supporting the care workforce, but it’s just a fraction of what the disability community truly needs and what was initially promised in the Build Back Better plan. The President has proposed a $150 billion investment in HCBS over the next ten years as part of his 2025 budget proposal. AAPD and the broader disability community will be working to ensure that HCBS receives the funding it needs in any final budget enacted by Congress. We are strongly advocating for the passage of the HCBS Access Act, which establishes mandatory funding for HCBS, eliminates waiting lists, and expands access across states.

This election will have significant consequences for the future of HCBS and access to care. Vice President Kamala Harris has proposed a comprehensive plan that would expand access to Medicaid to give more people Medicaid-covered access to care at home. Former president Donald Trump recently expressed support for a tax credit for family caregivers. This article from the Kaiser Family Foundation can help you better understand the different candidates’ plans for access to care. 

Project 2025, a 900-page governing agenda put forth by the Heritage Foundation as a blueprint for a new administration, threatens cuts to Medicaid funding, work requirements and time limits for Medicaid, and guts funding for Home- and Community-based Services, which would add to the more than 700,000 people on the waiting list for care and services necessary for them to live independently, forcing many into nursing homes and other congregate care settings against their will.

Have you voted yet? Be sure to check out AAPD’s state guides for information on accessible voting, and make a plan to vote on or before November 5, 2024.

The post Election 2024 Policy Brief: Improvements to the Care Economy Since 2020 appeared first on AAPD.

As Americans begin to vote, AAPD is providing information about some of those key disability issues, and relevant policy changes in those issue areas since the last presidential election. 

For far too long, disabled people have faced significant barriers to safe, accessible air travel: wheelchairs and other assistive devices are frequently lost, broken, or damaged, passengers sustain personal injuries during seat transfers, and aircraft lavatories are inaccessible.

The cost of this harm is very high for disabled passengers. Sustaining bodily injuries and losing the use of one’s wheelchair or mobility device can result in lost wages, inability to work or participate in daily activities, severe pain or health complications, and even death. In 2021, disability rights activist Engracia Figueroa died from injuries sustained after her customized wheelchair was damaged on a United Airlines flight.

As part of the Biden-Harris administration, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has made improving air travel for people with disabilities a top priority, creating an Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights in 2022, finalizing a rule to require accessible lavatories on single-aisle aircraft in 2023, and announcing a proposed rule to ensure that who use wheelchairs can fly safely earlier this year.

The Biden-Harris administration has demonstrated a significant commitment to hold airlines accountable. Last week on October 23, the Department of Transportation announced it was fining American Airlines a $50 million penalty for their mistreatment of disabled passengers and their mobility equipment. The fine was levied after a Department of Transportation (DOT) review of complaints against American Airlines from 2019-2023 which revealed “cases of unsafe physical assistance that at times resulted in injuries and undignified treatment of wheelchair users, in addition to repeated failures to provide prompt wheelchair assistance.” We applaud the efforts of individuals and organizations in the disability community who took time to share their experiences of mistreatment while traveling and filed complaints with the Department of Transportation. 

These actions have been vital actions for safer air travel for disabled passengers. However, DOT has yet to issue the finalized version of its recent proposed rule, “Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers with Disabilities Using Wheelchairs,” which would require prompt, safe, and dignified assistance for air travelers with disabilities, mandate training for airline and airport contractor personnel who assist passengers with disabilities, and establish new actions that airlines must take to protect passengers with disabilities when a wheelchair is broken or damaged during transport. 

AAPD submitted comments with Hand in Hand (link) supporting the rule and calling for its expansion in June. Importantly, our comments included stories from disabled people people who experienced discrimination while flying. We also joined the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents airport workers, and the National Disability Rights Network to urge the Department of Transportation to implement the strongest possible rules mandating airport worker training for those who assist passengers with disabilities. Improved training for personnel who assist passengers with disabilities in both getting through TSA security and to the gate, as well as those who assist passengers with boarding and deplaning will significantly reduce the incidence of bodily harm to passengers and workers, and greatly reduce the number of lost, broken, or damaged wheelchairs.

AAPD supports the changes made by the Biden-Harris administration to achieve accessible and safe air travel for disabled passengers, and hopes these efforts will continue. 

Federal regulations can change with new presidential administrations. New administrations sometimes overturn or re-regulate the previous administration’s regulations. 

Have you voted yet? Be sure to check out AAPD’s state guides for information on accessible voting, and make a plan to vote on or before November 5, 2024. 

The post Election 2024 Policy Brief: DOT Improves Air Travel for Passengers with Disabilities appeared first on AAPD.

New Online Ad Buy Urges Candidates to Back Disability Community and Disability GOTV

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 23, 2024       

Contact:  Jess Davidson, jdavidson@aapd.com; 202-975-0960 OR Sean Kelly, sean@newdisabledsouth.org

WASHINGTON — Today the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), in partnership with multiple disability groups, released a video ad campaign ahead of Election Day, calling on political candidates and elected officials to pay attention to the 61 million+ disabled people across the country and the issues that matter most to us. The 60-second ad, and a 30-second version, will run across digital platforms in critical swing states–Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin–and urges candidates to “fight beside us or get out of the way.”

The ad, filmed and produced with alignco in Atlanta, Georgia, and featuring folks with a range of disabilities, will be distributed across digital and social media platforms. It was jointly produced and funded by:

• American Association of People with Disabilities
• New Disabled South
• Disability Culture Lab
• Detroit Disability Power / Disability Action

“One in every six eligible voters is disabled, making the disability community one of the largest voting blocs in the country. However, our presence and power is all too frequently dismissed by candidates. We are excited to collaborate on this ad with other leading disability organizations to highlight the power of disabled people and the importance of the disability vote,” said Maria Town, President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities.

“We are proud to join alongside our fellow disabled leaders in telling political candidates that enough is enough. Our community is powerful, influential, and ready to vote for the things we need and deserve,” said Dom Kelly, Co-Founder, President & CEO of New Disabled South.

“The disability vote could win or lose the election in every swing state — but politicians too often treat us as an afterthought,” said Keidra Chaney, Program Director at Disability Culture Lab. “We have only two weeks to go — it’s not too late to speak to disabled voters and fight beside us for justice. We’re proud to partner on this ad because the disability vote shouldn’t ever be taken for granted.”

“The disability community is large and diverse, and yet, we have many common interests and everything to gain from increased political representation,” said Dessa Cosma, Executive Director of Detroit Disability Power and Disability Action. “This collective motivation to show up and show out for our community will without doubt impact the presidential election and down ballot races across the country.”

“There is no doubt that the disability community represents one of the largest and most diverse voting blocs in the country,” said Alison Betty, Partner at alignco. “We’re proud to support the disability community during this election cycle. Candidates should be on notice. Disabled people are politically active, organized and powerful.”

Watch the ad and learn more about the campaign: vote.newdisabledsouth.org

Note to press: Interviews with leaders from these groups are available in person or remotely from Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Detroit. To schedule, please contact Sean Kelly at sean@newdisabledsouth.org.

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New Disabled South is the first and only regional disability organization in the United States, fighting for liberation, justice, and rights for all disabled people in the South. 

Disability Culture Lab is a nonprofit disability media and narrative lab with a mission to shift the narrative on disability from fear and pity to solidarity and liberation. We exist to dismantle ableism and celebrate disabled community and culture.

Detroit Disability Power is a disability focused social justice organization building and leveraging the organizing and political power of the disability community to ensure the full inclusion of people with disabilities. Disability Action is the political 501(c)4 arm of Detroit Disability Power. 

American Association of People with Disabilities works to increase the political and economic power of people with disabilities. As a national, nonpartisan, disability-led and cross-disability rights organization, AAPD advocates for full civil rights for over 60 million Americans with disabilities. We do this by promoting equal opportunity, economic power, independent living, and political participation.

Alignco is a full-service strategic communications, advertising, and digital agency that partners with today’s changemakers – and tomorrow’s – to drive lasting change and build a more equitable, just world. To learn more, visit alignco.us.

The post Disability Groups Push Powerful Disability Vote Ad Across Key States appeared first on AAPD.

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February Advocacy Highlights

Statements on CDC’s New COVID-19 Guidelines

On February 13, the Washington Post reported that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention (CDC) was preparing to release new proposed isolation guidance for COVID-19 that would reduce isolation times to as little as one day in many cases. AAPD released a statement expressing severe concern and asking the CDC and the Biden administration to change course. That statement can be read here.

Today, March 1, the CDC released that new guidance, titled Respiratory Virus Guidelines. AAPD published a statement again to express disappointment and frustration with the new guidance, and our concerns for the disability community amidst its changes. Read that statement here. 

AAPD Comments on the DoJ’s Proposed Accessibility Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment

AAPD submitted comments in support of the Department of Justice’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking entitled Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability: Accessibility of Medical Diagnostic Equipment of State and Local Government Entities. This proposed rule would implement accessibility standards for medical diagnostic equipment (MDE), including exam tables, diagnostic imaging machines such as those used for mammography, and more under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The U.S. Access Board released these accessibility standards for MDE in 2017, and this proposed rule from the Department of Justice would make them enforceable. Read our comments here. 

AAPD Comments to AbilityOne Commission on Proposed Regulation on Competition

AAPD submitted comments to the Office of Management and Budget and the AbilityOne Commission on the proposed regulation, Supporting Competition in the AbilityOne Program. Established in 1938, the AbilityOne program provides employment opportunities and related supports to 45,000 people who are blind or have significant disabilities and provides products and services to the U.S. government and armed services.  AAPD is concerned that this proposed regulation would substantially alter the purpose of the AbilityOne program by making costs the main consideration when reviewing applications for AbilityOne contracts.  Read our comments here. 

AAPD Asks President Biden to Include Disability Policy Priorities in State of the Union Address

AAPD sent a letter to President Biden asking him to include people with disabilities and key disability policy priorities in his upcoming State of the Union address, scheduled to be delivered to a Joint Session of Congress on March 7. Read our letter to the President here. 

AAPD Attends Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Conference in Philadelphia

On February 6th and 7th, Maria Town, AAPD President and CEO, and Gaby Madriz, AAPD Chief Operating Officer, attended The Equity and Social Justice Relationships Winter Convening in Philadelphia, hosted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The convening brought together leaders from various non-profit organizations who focus on different aspects of health equity. The convening was the first in-person gathering of this cohort of leaders and provided an invaluable opportunity to build relationships for mutual support and collaboration. AAPD is excited to continue to build upon the connections forged at the convening in order to advance our shared goals of increasing health equity through advocacy and civic engagement within our communities. 

Fannie Lou Hamer Leadership Fellows Visit Washington, D.C.

February 22-25, fellows in the 2023 Fannie Lou Hamer Leadership Program gathered in Washington D.C. to put their legislative advocacy skills into action and build connections within the disability community. The Fannie Lou Hamer Leadership Program, started in 2020, is designed for young Black disabled advocates (ages 18 – 30) who are committed to the social, political, and economic issues surrounding the intersections of the Black and Disability communities. The fellows met with Members of Congress, visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture, toured the We Who Believe in Freedom Exhibit at the MLK Library, and more. Read about the leaders from our 2023 cohort here. 

AAPD Submits Written Testimony Regarding Disabled Entrepreneurs

On January 30, 2024 the Committee on Small Business held an Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development Subcommittee hearing titled “Pathways to Success: Supporting Entrepreneurs and Employees with Disabilities.” AAPD submitted written testimony on the barriers disabled entrepreneurs and employees face and what can be done to resolve these issues, such as passing the Supporting Disabled Entrepreneurs Act. You can read the full testimony here. 

REV UP Updates

New U.S. Senate Bills Improving Democracy

This month, the REV UP network has been excited about the release of multiple bills working to improve our democracy!

The Accessible Voting Act establishes an Office of Accessibility in the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, requires states to create accessible voting websites, requires states to allow no-excuse absentee voting for all voters and provide accessible absentee digital blank ballots, authorizes funding for states to ensure polling place accessibility, and more. 

The Removing Access Barriers to Running for Elected Office for People with Disabilities Act protects candidate’s who need access to crucial federal disability benefits. 

Lastly, the AID (Accessibility and Inclusion to Diversify) Local Government Leadership Act supports accommodations for local elected officials. 

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore and improve the Voting Rights Act by adding back in protections against racial discrimination in voting and representation. Maria Town, President and CEO of AAPD, said of the bill, “We have seen a disturbing increase in voter suppression laws at the state-level with policies that specifically create barriers for disabled voters. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is a crucial protection against discriminatory voting laws. We urge Congress to pass this law so we can get closer to a democracy where every voter has full access to their right.”

To learn more about these bills and get engaged in advocacy, register to attend REV UP National Calls and sign up for the REV UP newsletter. 

Technology Policy

NTIA Workshop at NDIA conference 

AAPD participated in a workshop on disability inclusion at the National Digital Inclusion Alliance conference in Philadelphia this month. AAPD urged state planners to reach out to the federally funded networks to learn more about the needs of our community, and highlighted the need to pay for assistive devices that allow disabled people to access broadband to communicate. We also urged libraries to work with existing assistive technology to create community hubs for people to learn how it can be used by assistive devices to communicate. 

Conversation with the FCC 

AAPD attended a briefing for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Rosenworcel with the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights. The priorities we shared included advocating for the FCC to create an Office on Civil Rights, an update on several matters related to digital discrimination rulemaking, and the need to secure funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). AAPD reinforced the need for the Commission to address the access to assistive devices comments included in our comments to the Commission on the digital discrimination rulemaking.

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