RICHMOND, Va. -- Monday marks the start of Disability Voting Rights Week, a week designed to address the challenges disabled voters face and reduce the barriers that still exist in the voting process.
In April 2021, Susan Lydick and Helena Berger founded REV UP Virginia. REV stands for Register, Educate, and Vote.
Both have worked decades in advocacy, as Berger was the former President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities.
Nearly two million adults in Virginia live with a disability, which equals 29 percent of the population.
According to 2020 November election disability stats, there were 939,000 projected eligible disabled Virginian voters and that was approximately 15% of the total Virginia electorate.
REV UP works alongside allies like the League of Women Voters of Virginia and the Virginia Association of Centers for Independent Living.
The two co-founders are intentional about reaching out to young voters.
The week kicks off a series of education events starting with John Lewis High School in Springfield.
On Thursday, the group will join forces with a student-run organization called UBU (You Be You) at George Mason University in Fairfax.
Adam Rizzoli created this advocacy community for neurodivergent students on campus.
“Our thought is, if we can start young and get people to recognize that they have people with disabilities in their lives, even if they're young, healthy, and vital — we can change the culture that way, in terms of awareness, engagement, understanding the potential power and the needs of those with disabilities,” Lydick explained.
Berger noted that in the 2022 midterm elections, there was a pronounced increase in turnout especially among young disabled voters compared to 2018.
Both highlight lawmakers in the Commonwealth who have made it easier for people with disabilities to cast a ballot like curbside voting and expanding absentee ballot access, but acknowledge there’s more work to be done. They said this issue is important to all of us as we may end up needing assistance to vote in the future.
“If we're all lucky enough to live to a ripe old age — our hearing, our sight, our mobility — something's going to go,” Berger stated. “And that qualifies us as being a person with a disability.”
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