Rideshare2Vote.com’s Post

Understanding voting rights is crucial, especially for individuals with disabilities. We've created a guide on 'Voting Rights in Colorado' to ensure everyone has access to the information they need to participate fully in the electoral process. Explore the linked presentation and help spread the word about the importance of accessible voting this election season. https://lnkd.in/gb_hjNcs

Do you remember Tuesday, November 8, 2016? For many, it was a day of anticipation and decision-making. But for Kristen Witucki, it also highlighted a deeper issue. In her powerful reflection, Kristen shares her experience as a blind voter during the 2016 presidential election, shedding light on the challenges of inaccessible voting and how she has since been armed with information, empowering her to return to in-person voting. Read her story and make sure you're ready for this year's election! #VoterRights #ProtectOurVote #Election2024 #Vote2024 #DisabilityRights #Accessibility

Be an Election Day Voting Rights Legal Monitor this November 🗳 We need attorneys to respond to voting rights issues, take declarations from voters, and check polling locations for accessibility. Learn more or sign up today: https://bit.ly/3XXfyZP DRF, along with Common Cause Florida and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, are working together to implement the Voting Rights Legal Monitor program for the 2024 elections in Florida. We are seeking attorneys to serve as legal monitors on the ground, in person in counties across the state of Florida. Immediate Problem This election year, voters will face obstacles that have no place in a modern democracy. We need lawyers like you to quickly synthesize complex rules and regulations, persuasively communicate to officials, and use critical thinking skills to support on-the-ground response. When not dealing with voting rights issues, you will conduct accessibility reviews of polling sites in your self-selected county. These reviews support Disability Rights Florida's efforts to promote and increase barrier-free voting access for individuals with disabilities in the state, and it would take several years to complete these reviews without your efforts. Work & Deliverables We need you to (1) rapidly respond to voting rights issues at in person at polling locations in one Florida county and take testimonies from affected voters as necessary, and (2) complete poll site accessibility reviews for Disability Rights Florida. To complete this work, you need access to a vehicle on Tuesday, November 5th, as you'll be driving to the polling locations, and a smartphone with a car charger. We will provide training and tools. A full-day shift is from 6:30 AM - 7:30 PM, but you do not need to volunteer for 13 hours. Please aim to volunteer for eight hours, giving preference to the evening voting period (4:30-7:30 PM) and the morning poll opening timeframe (6:30-9:30 AM). This is a Florida-based, in-person volunteer opportunity. #Election2024 #DisabilityVote #FloridaElections #CripTheVote

Voting IS #advocacy. Casting your vote, be it at a voting booth on election day, through early voting, or via absentee ballot, is a powerful way to express what's important to you!! By voting, we help elect officials who make policy decisions on our behalf. The disability community in #Iowa needs to be present at the polls, influencing issues from healthcare to human rights. The candidates we elect are often the legislators we engage with throughout the year to ensure that our voices are heard, our concerns are recognized, and our community is represented. From local elections to state officials and up to the Presidency of the United States — every vote counts! Want to register to vote, check your registration status, vote absentee or learn how an #accessible voting machine works? Go to Iowa Secretary of State's website: https://lnkd.in/eXfZcMdp   #DisabilityVote #REVUP #CriptheVote #VoterReady

A very important topic in this year's elections and future elections. How the Biden-Harris Administration Is Ensuring Voting Accessibility Written by Mia Ives-Rublee, Alex C., Rebecca Mears at the Center for American Progress –“Disabled Americans continue to experience barriers to the ballot box. These barriers can include polling places that are not physically accessible, failure of polling locations to provide auxiliary aids and services for individuals with vision or hearing loss, lack of accessible voting machines and staff trained in the use of such machines, and more. The good news is that during the last presidential election, in 2020, disabled people participated in record numbers. Nearly 62 percent of disabled voters participated in 2020 compared with nearly 56 percent in 2016. This was largely attributed to many states expanding access to voting by mail due to concerns around COVID-19. Disabled people experienced fewer barriers each major election cycle from 2012 to 2020. The bad news is that, more recently, this trend has reversed: The number of disabled voters reporting difficulties with voting increased from 11.4 percent in 2020 to 14 percent in 2022. This increase could be related to the increase in disabled people due to long COVID and other health issues, as well as the number of anti-voting laws enacted since 2020. Since the 2020 presidential election, 29 states have enacted more restrictive voting laws and state legislatures are introducing hundreds more every year.” #AccessibilityInTheNews https://lnkd.in/dxyun8bw

Our newest blog discusses how Virginians can maximize accessible voting option for this upcoming election. Ensuring that all citizens have access to the voting process is essential for a functioning democracy. In order to maximize accessible voting options, it is crucial to understand the various ways in which individuals can register to vote, regardless of their disability status. By implementing these strategies, we can work towards creating a more inclusive and equitable voting system for all. https://ow.ly/fXmZ50SPru4

It's essential that everyone who is eligible has the right to express their opinions by voting. NESCA Transition Specialist/Counselor Tabitha Monahan, MA, CAGS, CRC, educates us on how to support loved ones with disabilities throughout the voting process -- helping them to be accurately informed about current issues, how and when to prepare to vote, as well as making sure they are supported on Election Day. #voting #election2024

Navigating the voting process is crucial for individuals with disabilities! Providing guidance on registering to vote, utilizing mail-in ballots, and understanding voter rights, including the availability of support at polling places are all skills that can be taught to support individuals in exercising these rights. And having the skills to vote empowers individuals with disabilities to influence policies that affect their lives. For detailed information and resources about voting, check out this blog by my colleague Tabitha Monahan, MA, CAGS, CRC Monahan - https://lnkd.in/ebEXSUms

Time to get ready to vote! It's Disability Voting Rights Week 2024! Is your voting plan ready? Yesterday, we urged you to register to vote and to check your registration. Today, we encourage you to make a plan! Whether it is your first time voting or your fiftieth, it is important to make a plan. Disabilities can make it a trickier and a plan helps! AAPD has a great document to help. https://bit.ly/m/REV-UP - Check to make sure you are registered to vote! - Learn key dates, like election day, early voting, and mail-in voting deadlines - Choose how and when you will vote - Consider your access needs - Learn what’s on your ballot. #DisabilityVote #pwME #MECFS #LongCovid #RevUp2024 #disability #CripTheVote #spoonie Image description: A graphic with a 3-D white title reads, “Plan to Vote, Your Vote Matters.” The word matters is circled in red for emphasis. The subtitle reads: “Make your plan: bit.ly/m/REV-UP.” Below the title is a bullet point list: “Check to make sure you are registered to vote!; Learn key dates, like election day, early voting, and mail-in voting deadlines; Choose how and when you will vote; Consider your access needs; Learn what’s on your ballot.” The bottom left features the AAPD REV UP logo. The background features an image of a white woman giving a presentation, next to her is a Black ASL interpreter. The image has a dark blue tint.

The country goes to the polls two weeks tomorrow, so obviously none of the main parties have fully accessible versions of their manifestos ready. Right now (and I've kept refreshing the pages!) here's what available either to download or to request, via email: Conservatives - absolutely nothing at all Labour - large print available, other versions 'soon' Lib Dems - clear print, Braille, easy read available, audio and BSL 'soon' Greens - easy read and short version available To put this in some context, around a million people who have a learning disability are entitled to vote. Yet none of the main parties have published fully accessible manifestos and none of them promise anything specific (or in some cases even mention)this part of our population (that's around 2 million people, if you include people who are autistic). In the run up to the local elections earlier this year, campaigners drew attention to the need for accessible manifestos as well as information on elections, polling stations and voting. This has become even more important given the rule change that means voters now need to show photographic proof of identity. All a bit shoddy really, surely these politicians need more votes? The link below is to a piece earlier this year, which includes the My Vote My Voice campaign 'on a mission to make voting accessible for everyone'. #generalelection #UKpolitics #democracy #learningdisability #autism #accessibility https://lnkd.in/eUvQrBjr