RICHMOND, Va. — Six candidates running for Virginia's top three elected offices participated in a virtual forum Monday focused on the biggest issues facing voters with disabilities.
The forum, which coincided with National Disability Voting Rights Week, marked the first major candidate event specifically focused on disability issues in Virginia's 2025 election cycle. The disability community represents 938,000 eligible voters — 15% of the Commonwealth's electorate.
Here are three of the key issues candidates addressed at the Monday night forum, hosted by The Arc of Virginia, REV UP Virginia, The Arc of Northern Virginia, and the Autism Society of Northern Virginia.
Medicaid cuts
Federal Medicaid cuts emerged as a central concern for gubernatorial candidates Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, and Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, during the discussion.
"Virginia's hospitals stand to lose more than $26 billion over 14 years,” Spanberger said. “That means there will be cuts to the services and safety nets and hospitals will feel the brunt of the impact.”
Earle-Sears emphasized her commitment to maintaining existing support systems.
"We've put so many waiver slots in place. We didn't do that only to take it away. We're not working in vain, and we're not trying to make anyone's life harder and I don't want you to believe that at all," Sears said.
Mental health crisis
The candidates also addressed Virginia's mental health crisis, with statistics showing 40% of incarcerated individuals suffer from a disability.
Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, highlighted the current administration's efforts to address mental health challenges.
"When Governor Youngkin took office he launched the 'Right Help, Right Now' initiative which is this idea that if you're dealing with a mental health challenge at the moment, we want you to get the help that you so desperately need, and there's really several pillars of that, but one of which is same-day care," Miyares said.
Delegate Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, outlined his approach to mental health crisis response.
"As I outlined in my public safety plan, which we released a few weeks ago, I'll push to expand Marcus Alert grants to place more mental health crisis responders on the ground to work with officers in mental health or substance abuse crises," Jones said.
Disaster preparedness
Virginia achieved a significant milestone in disability voter participation between the 2018 and 2022 midterm elections. The voting gap between disabled and non-disabled voters was completely eliminated, shrinking from 11% to 0%.
This election cycle, advocates for the disability community are focusing on employment and housing rights, as well as safety protections during natural disasters.
State Senator Ghazala Hashmi, a Democrat, emphasized her focus on inclusive disaster planning.
"Some of the key areas in which I plan to work is to push for the integration of accessibility into every stage of disaster planning, whether it's the initial design of emergency alerts or transportation, shelter access as well as health care services," Hashmi said.
John Reid, a Republican, stressed the need for comprehensive accessibility standards in emergency preparedness.
"We need an access-first preparedness standard for every state and local plan out there, disability advisory councils that gives information to those who are crafting these plans in advance. Put them at the table, have inventories of accessible shelters, generators, refrigeration for meds has been expressed to me as a big concern," Reid said.
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