Belleville, Ill. – July 23, 2010 – Twenty years ago, on July 26, the Americans with Disabilities Act became law—promising equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, telecommunications and state and local government services. Allsup—a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and
Medicare plan selection services—encourages people to celebrate the ADA’s 20
th anniversary by voting in the 2010 midterm elections.
Civic participation is a fundamental American right. The ADA was crafted to ensure people with disabilities could exercise that right, especially when it came to electing their government leaders. For a variety of reasons, including inaccessible polling places and lack of adequate transportation, people with disabilities have traditionally voted at lower rates than the general public.
However, the ADA’s passage and resulting improvements to polling place access, as well as voter-education efforts, have helped increase the number of people with disabilities who vote.
An analysis of the U.S. Census’ Current Population Survey Voting Supplement for November 2008 by Lisa Schur and Douglas Kruse of Rutgers University showed that although people with disabilities continue to vote at a lower rate than the rest of the population, the gap is closing.
While there was a 12 percent difference in voter turnout between people with disabilities and people without disabilities in 2000, there was only a 7 percent gap in 2008, when 57 percent of people with disabilities voted, compared to a 64 percent rate for people without disabilities.
According to the analysis, 14.7 million Americans with disabilities voted in the 2008 presidential election, compared to 10.9 million in 2000.
The American Association of People with Disabilities’
Disability Vote Project (DVP) aims to close the gap altogether by eliminating barriers and collaborating with coalition partners around the country to increase political participation for individuals with disabilities.
DVP helps people with disabilities register to vote; educates them on how to get to their polling places and what their rights are at the polling places; and works to make polling places accessible to voters with all disabilities.
The U.S. midterm elections are Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 36 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for election, along with 38 state and territorial governorships, many state legislatures, four territorial legislatures and numerous state and local races.
As organizations throughout the country observe the 20th anniversary of the ADA with special events and programs, one of the most meaningful ways individuals can celebrate is to register and commit to vote this fall.
For more information and local voting resources visit Allsup’s voting resource page.
ABOUT ALLSUP
Allsup is a nationwide provider of Social Security disability, Medicare and Medicare Secondary Payer compliance services for individuals, employers and insurance carriers. Founded in 1984, Allsup employs nearly 700 professionals who deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. The company is based in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis. For more information, visit www.Allsup.com.