Black and white circular design with 2021 and a coil icon in the center and the text "webby award winner" wrapped around the bottom.

Alice Wong is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, a Ford grantee working to create and amplify disability culture and media. As a co-partner of #CripTheVote​, a nonpartisan online movement encouraging the political participation of disabled people, she talks about the barriers people with disabilities face in the voting process.

“People with disabilities are still facing numerous barriers, whether it’s at the polling station, whether it’s filling out absentee ballots, or whether they’re even allowed to vote.”

In the United States, one in five eligible voters has a disability. To ensure their right to vote is protected, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that voter registration and voting be accessible. Despite this, there are still a lot of obstacles people with disabilities face in political participation.

These barriers are physical, logistical, technical and legal. An estimated 1.5 million adults are under legal guardianship nationwide and, according to local and state rules, many of these adults, despite wanting to participate in civic life, are not able to vote.

It is the duty of America’s democratic system to end this institutionalized discrimination against people with disabilities and focus on ensuring that all citizens are part of the democratic process.


Resources

Want to learn more about these barriers and how you can work with the disability community to eliminate them?

  • Watch Voting Rights for All an event hosted by The Ford Foundation with disability justice leaders, Imani Barbarin, Michelle Bishop and Bianca Laureano. Learn about what is at stake in 2020, how disability organizations, communities and philanthropy can collaborate, and what long-term actions need to be taken to ensure people with disabilities of their fundamental right to vote.
  • Listen to this podcast from the Disability Visibility Project, showcasing two voices from the disability community on what political participation means to them.
  • This Pew Charitable Trusts article outlines which states eliminate the right to vote for people under guardianship. And this additional Pew Charitable Trusts article illustrates some of the ways in which voters with disabilities are blocked from the ballot box.
  • Read a report from the Ruderman Family Foundation on Voting Accessibility for People with Disabilities.
  • Explore a number of fact sheets from Rutgers University on Disability and Voter Turnout.
  • Work with Alice Wong, who offers a range of research and consultation services centered on people with disabilities.

This piece is part of Disability Demands Justice, a dynamic, ever-evolving hub to deepen our understanding of how disability intersects with social justice.

Explore the stories

Video duration: 5 minutes and 9 seconds
Collage of individuals with disabilities against a green background. Next to them in a black circle is copy that reads "Social Justice: What's disability got to do with it?"

Social Justice: What’s disability got to do with it?

A society cannot be truly just without including people with disabilities and taking an intersectional approach towards tackling discrimination. This starts with inclusive leadership, where people with disabilities are invited into discussions and lead the way in advocating for inclusive, equitable spaces.

Video duration: 2 minutes and 12 seconds
Keri Gray, a young black woman with a prosthetic limb that is metal near the top and foam-covered blow, blending in with her skin tone. She’s wearing a red romper with a black headwrap. Next to her is copy in a black circle that reads "We're fighting for all of you, not just some of you."

Intersectionality & Disability, featuring Keri Gray, the Keri Gray Group

Around the globe, people living with disabilities experience inequality in all its forms. Understanding intersectionality is essential to true inclusion. By centering those most marginalized and taking an intersectional approach in designing solutions, we can advance justice for all.

Video duration: 58 seconds
Left to right: Keri Gray, Sara Minkara, Alice Wong, Ryan Easterly, and Lawrence Carter-Long.

There is no justice without disability

Over one billion people in the world are living with a disability. We need to expand our definition of justice. To create a truly inclusive world, we need to recognize how disability intersects with issues of social justice. Racial justice, economic justice, and gender justice cannot exist without disability justice.

Video duration: 1 minute and 58 seconds
Sara Minkara, a blind Lebanese-American woman wearing a white headscarf, holds her cane with both hands to her right while seated. Next to her is copy in a black circle that reads, "Disability is a beautiful part of our society. It's an asset."

Disability Is an Asset, featuring Sara Minkara, Empowerment Through Integration

People with disabilities are the world’s largest marginalized population. Challenging discriminatory narratives and systems can help the disability community build power and create a more inclusive world, by contributing value across all sectors. Building a more inclusive world benefits everyone.

Video duration: 1 minute and 40 seconds
Dessa Cosma, a white disabled woman in a wheelchair with her hands gently collapsed in her lap. Next to her is copy in a black circle that reads "Everything that's wrong in our society was a set of choices. The beautiful thing is we can make different choices."

Economic Justice & Disability, featuring Dessa Cosma, Detroit Disability Power

Disability inclusion needs to be included in the fight for economic justice. Barriers to education and employment keep people with disabilities living in poverty. Ending poverty means addressing the drivers of economic inequality and reimagining the future of work.