REV UP! National Disability Voter Registration Week July 15-19, 2019

The REV UP Campaign, a national, nonpartisan effort to increase the political participation of people with disabilities, has designated July 15-19, 2019 as National Disability Voter Registration Week. REV UP stands for Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!

The disability community has a huge stake in the results of the local, state, and federal elections. Our elected officials make decisions that affect the programs and services people with disabilities rely on to receive healthcare and live independently in the community of their choice. Justin Dart, father of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), said it best: “Vote as if your life depended on it, because it does.”

National Disability Voter Registration Week is an opportune time to remind people with disabilities of their right to vote and to encourage voter registration ahead of the upcoming 2020 elections. Please consider how your organization could support voter rights and registrations from July 15-19.

For more information on voter registration in SC, as well as downloadable copies of the registration forms, see the SC Election Commission’s registration webpage at https://www.scvotes.org/south-carolina-voter-registration-information

For videos, brochures, and other materials that can be used in rights training for people with disabilities, see the South Carolina Protection and Advocacy voting webpage at https://www.pandasc.org/resources/voting/

For more information on National Disability Voter Registration Week, visit www.aapd.com/NDVRW. With any other questions, please contact Bill Simpson, Director of Residential and Respite, at 803-898-9614 or bsimpson@ddsn.sc.gov.