Disability groups promote voter registration
Today is National Voter Registration Day. Voters with disabilities are underrepresented at
the polls and may experience barriers to voting. The Rutgers University Fact Sheet on
Disability and Voter Turnout in the 2018 Elections notes a 10.4% gap in Wisconsin voter
turnout between citizens with and without disabilities.
(https://smlr.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/2018disabilityturnout.pdf)
The Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition is working to close that gap, to increase participation
of Wisconsinites with disabilities in the electoral process, and to address barriers.
To promote voter registration in the disability community, we have launched a postcard
campaign. Disability Vote Coalition postcards include dates for the 2020 elections,
information about voter registration and Photo ID requirements, and where to call for help.
Postcards are ideal to share at community events, include in resource displays, and provide
to clients and self-advocates. They are available in English in Spanish.
• To order postcards, complete our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KY5ZWJG
An additional resource is our 2019 video on Voter Registration; developed in partnership with
Wisconsin Association of the Deaf, it features deaf voters. The Voter Registration video is
available on the Wisconsin Disability Vote website at http://disabilityvote.org/videos
We encourage Wisconsinites with disabilities to check myvote.wi.gov to see if you are
registered at your current address. If not, you can register online, by mail, or at your
municipal clerk’s office.
The Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition is a non-partisan effort to increase voter turnout and participation in the electoral process among members of Wisconsin’s disability community. It is a project of Disability Rights Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities.
