We are currently remodeling

Skip Navigation

Main Navigation Bar (Deactivated)

Public Policy

The goal of the Disability Policy Collaboration is to impact national public policy for people with developmental disabilities, including those with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability, and their friends, families and loved ones.

Go back to top

Advocacy Tools: Legislative Advocacy

What One Individual Can Do: More Ideas That Show The Political Clout Of The Disability Community

CREATE BUTTONS, BUMPER STICKERS, LABELS, HATS, etc. with messages such as "A Voting American With Disabilities" or "These Wheels Roll Into the Ballot Booth" or "My Kid is Disabled and I Vote". Hold a meeting to create snappy slogans, find a way to get them made and hand them out.

INCLUDE A VOTING REMINDER on all envelopes, forms, flyers and handouts for information and referral services. Examples:

    -- "THIS AGENCY CAN HELP YOU REGISTER TO VOTE"
    -- "ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE?"
    -- "I CAN HELP YOU REGISTER TO VOTE"
    -- "VOTE IN THE NEXT ELECTION ON [insert date]"
    -- "EVERY VOTE COUNTS"

HAVE VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS AVAILABLE AT EVERY MEETING, no matter how small it is. Set a goal of registering ONE PERSON A DAY or ONE PERSON AT EVERY MEETING. Don't underestimate the power of incremental action.

PUT A REMINDER IN EVERY NEWSLETTER. Include the phone number and/or location of the election office or where to get voter registration forms such as "For questions and concerns about voting and elections call the Secretary of State at [insert the state's 800 number to the chief election office]". Include reminders such as "Don't forget to register to vote by [insert date] in order to be eligible to vote in the November 8, 1996 election."

RECRUIT A "LET'S REGISTER EVERYONE TO VOTE" ('LRETV Team') and decide to register a specific number of persons by a certain date.

RECRUIT A "GET OUT THE VOTE TEAM" ('GoVote Team') to assist with transportation and other special needs. Remember that candidates for office may be happy to provide vans and other vehicles to pick up voters.

WRITE OPINION PIECES OR LETTERS TO EDITORS of local and regional papers about getting out the vote or about the difficulties persons with disabilities encounter and how they master them. Meet with editorial boards on voting problems, or successes, to get better coverage during elections. Photograph & publish inaccessible voting site images.

REMIND NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER MEDIA OF THE NUMBER OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, and the number of their family members and associates, in the community or in the state. Make sure candidates for office know these numbers too.

POST A NOTICE ASKING FOR VOLUNTEER CAREGIVERS so parents, especially single parents, of children with disabilities, or parents with disabilities who have children, can get out of the house to vote. Coordinate this service for every election.

TAKE VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS EVERYWHERE WITH YOU. Be a pain in the neck to your friends about voter registration until they are all registered. Then harangue them to see if they voted.

INVITE THE CHIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICER or the local election official as the next speaker at your monthly support meeting. Ask him or her to talk about 'Motor Voter' implementation or for a report on how far they have advanced with accessibility for persons with disabilities at voting sites. Have registration forms handy. Mail them in the next day.

TELL CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE TO INCLUDE PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES in the visual materials they utilize. Offer yourself or you and your child.

ADVISE CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE ON THE DISABILITY ASPECT of any issue. In particular, encourage candidates to use words with dignity to promote equality for everyone. Advise them to eliminate words like abnormal, burden, deformed, differently abled, disfigured, incapacitated, imbecile, maimed, moron, palsied, pathetic, pitiful, deaf-mute, crazy/insane, fits, slow, afflicted with, cripple, invalid, spastic, stricken with, suffer from, tragedy, etc. from their speeches and materials. Help them learn preferred terminology such as blind, deaf, profoundly deaf, hearing impaired, visually impaired, hemiplegia, paraplegia, quadriplegia, etc. If necessary offer to conduct a disability etiquette session for campaign or party staff on what 'people first' language is all about.

VOLUNTEER AT LOCAL POLLING SITES. Not only will you be able to make sure they are accessible but also may be able to assist voters with disabilities and to check out the number of 'handicapped' parking spaces available.

HOLD A CANDIDATES' FORUM. Discuss their positions and knowledge of disability-related information afterwards. Register voters. Mail them in the next day.

SURVEY CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE ON ADA [P.L. 101-336, the Americans with Disabilities Act]. Ask them "If the Americans With Disabilities Act were proposed as legislation today, how would you vote?" Ask them "Do they support the right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for children with disabilities under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)?". Publicize the results of this 'snapshot survey', even vague and non-committal answers tell volumes about a candidate's knowledge of disability. Educate candidates on the Act's importance where it is clear there is lack of knowledge.

SURVEY MEDICAID AND VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SUPPLIERS AND CONTRACTEES, such as durable medical equipment sellers and state contracted providers of rehabilitation services. Questions could include "Do you know if your sales or program staff are influenced by disability issues in their state, Congressional or Presidential voting?"

ASK THE GOVERNOR TO PROCLAIM A DISABLED AND ABLE TO VOTE DAY to launch a statewide campaign to increase voter registration and to mobilize persons with disabilities to exercise their fundamental constitutional rights and responsibilities. Include elderly advocacy organizations if appropriate.

RAISE DISABILITY FUNDS FOR A CANDIDATE. Hold a fundraiser for a candidate that is especially sensitive to disability issues. Check with local, state and federal election offices about the rules for holding such events as this is a PARTISAN activity.

FORM A STATE LEVEL COALITION that includes persons from Vocational Rehabilitation, the Social Security Administration, the Special Education office, the Medicaid and Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities and other disability specific bureaucracies. The mission would be to assess what needs to be done to ensure Motor Voter implementation and to find ways to achieve the goals. Either meet in person or hold a teleconference. Follow up with letters to hold officials to their word.

EXPAND YOUR SOCIAL LIFE. Get active in a political campaign. Get active in a political party. Assist with fundraising for a candidate.

RUN FOR OFFICE or as a party delegate (call their offices). Find out how to run for local office, raise some change, hire persons with disabilities to manage your own campaign, or do it yourself. If you lose, run again.

"It is generally recognized that a mere block of 20,000 votes can greatly affect the outcome of most races."

©1996 UCP