Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 31 – Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler has reached out to the 1.2 million Georgians with disabilities, responding to questions from Sign 1 News earlier this week.
Local disability organizations such as the Georgia Disability Vote Partnership (GDVP) and national groups such as RespectAbility have been reaching out to Democratic and Republican candidates about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility.
Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 31 – With the fate of the U.S. Senate at stake thanks to the hard-fought Georgia Senate Runoff campaign, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Georgia State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of Georgians with disabilities is 1,246,077, making up 12.1 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data shows that there are 658,811 working-age people with disabilities in Georgia. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 238,875 (or 36.3 percent) of those Georgians have a job.
RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate during the entire 2020 election cycle the same key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility.
Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 29 – Democratic Senate candidate Reverend Raphael Warnock has responded to a detailed candidate questionnaire on disability issues. The questionnaire is from RespectAbility, a nonpartisan nonprofit disability organization that does not endorse candidates. The questionnaire is purely for educational purposes.
Throughout the 2020 election, nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility The full text of RespectAbility’s questions and Rev. Warnock’s responses follows:
Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 29 – Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff has reached out to the 1.2 million Georgians with disabilities in a video message released over the Christmas weekend.
Local disability organizations such as the Georgia Disability Vote Partnership (GDVP) and national groups such as RespectAbility have been reaching out to Democratic and Republican candidates about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility.
However, it has only been in the final few hours of the campaign that candidates are starting to respond. The transcript of Ossoff’s comments can be found below:
Washington, D.C., Dec. 28 – With the political universe centered on the Senate runoff in Georgia, the unique needs and barriers of Georgians with disabilities could very well factor into to the outcome of the race. Thus, the national nonpartisan disability inclusion organization RespectAbility is asking pollsters, polling firms and political consultants to track voters with disabilities in their demographic data, as well as voter access exit polling.
According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of Georgians with disabilities is 1,246,077, making up 12.1 percent of the total state population. 2018 employment data show that there are 658,811 working-age people with disabilities in Georgia. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 238,875 (or 36.3 percent) of those Georgians had a job.
Thus far, there has been little outreach to voters with disabilities from all four Senate candidates in the runoff race. As noted by RespectAbility in November, none of the four candidates even mention the word disability on their campaign websites. None of the Senate candidates’ websites are fully accessible to the 254,972 Georgians who are blind or low vision. And very few of the candidates’ videos have captions, making them inaccessible to the 328,000 deaf and hard of hearing Georgians.
Washington, D.C., Dec. 22 – Control of the United States Senate depends on two runoff elections in the state of Georgia. While a lot of money is being spent by the candidates and other organizations to get out the vote, a new report about two focus groups indicates that Georgia’s disability community is not getting enough attention in these races. In fact, at the time these focus groups were conducted, none of the participants were able to recall having seen or heard anything from the Senate candidates regarding people with disabilities.
On behalf of RespectAbility and the Georgia Disability Vote Partnership (GDVP), Greenberg Research and Democracy Corps conducted 2 sets of online video focus groups among registered voters with disabilities in Georgia; one group of white women on December 16th and one group of Black women on December 17th. According to Greenberg Research and Democracy Corps, “for voters with disabilities, health care costs and accessibility are the dominant issues right now.”
Washington, D.C., Nov. 12 – Despite there being more than 1.2 million Georgians with some form of disability, all four Senate candidates in the most hotly contested Senate races in America have thus far failed to reach out to voters with disabilities. Indeed, none of the four candidates even mention the word disability on their campaign websites, and none of their websites are fully accessible to voters who are blind or deaf.
The failure of Georgia Senate campaigns to reach out to voters with disabilities is in stark contrast to President-elect Joe Biden who made outreach to the disability community a key part of his winning strategy. A poll conducted by Democracy Corps on behalf of RespectAbility in the major battleground states in the days leading up to Election Day found that 60 percent of voters with disabilities say they have or were planning to vote for Joe Biden, compared to 35 percent of voters with disabilities supporting President Trump. This showed a shift from 2016, when a poll conducted by Lake Research Partners and The Tarrance Group found that voters with disabilities split their votes between President Trump (46 percent) and Secretary Hillary Clinton (49 percent).
Washington, D.C., Oct. 16 – There is no way any single candidate questionnaire can fully capture the issues impacting the approximately 61 million Americans living with some form of disability. The questions chosen by RespectAbility for the nonpartisan 2020 Disability Voter Candidate Questionnaire reflect organizational priorities around fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so people with disabilities can participate fully in all aspects of community. In our outreach to candidates the Presidential as well as key Senate and Governor races on both sides of the aisle, RespectAbility has offered candidates the chance to offer any additional policy proposals and future priorities beyond just the scope of the questionnaire.
Question 7 of the Questionnaire was: What additional policies and priorities, other than those already discussed above, do you plan to focus on to improve the lives of people with disabilities?
Below, read the answers from the candidates who responded. These responses are listed alphabetically by state:
Washington, D.C., Oct. 16 – When politicians and candidates for public office think about reaching out to minority communities, it is important that they remember the one-in-five Americans living with some form of disability. Voters with disabilities are a massive pool of potential voters who have often been ignored in past elections. However, those voters are now more engaged and active than ever. According to a recent study by Rutgers University, up to 38.3 million eligible voters are people with disabilities. This represents a massive increase in participation by voters with disabilities compared to past elections.
RespectAbility has conducted polling research of its own and found that three quarters of likely voters either have a disability themselves or have a close friend or family member with a disability. With such a large share of the electorate having a personal interest in disability issues, politicians must pay attention. As a nonpartisan national nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so people with disabilities can participate fully in all aspects of community, RespectAbility has invited all candidates in the Presidential as well as key Senate and Governor races on both sides of the aisle to submit their answers to a 2020 Disability Voter Candidate Questionnaire.
Question 4 of the Questionnaire was: What will you do to promote policies and practices designed to support full community engagement, access and inclusion of people with disabilities?
Below, read the answers from the candidates who responded. These responses are listed alphabetically by state:
Washington, D.C., Oct. 14 – The 2020 election is an election unlike any other. Candidates vying for public office present profoundly different visions of what the future of America will look like. As a nonpartisan national nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so people with disabilities can participate fully in all aspects of the community, RespectAbility has invited candidates in the Presidential as well as in key Senate and Governor races, from both sides of the aisle, to submit their answers to a 2020 Disability Voter Candidate Questionnaire.
Central to that Questionnaire and the election itself is the question of the future of students with disabilities. Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to more issues and concerns for all students and their families, but this is especially true for students with disabilities. Additionally, the gap in graduation and drop-out rates between students with and without disabilities continues to undermine their futures. Mr. Kamau Bobb‘s stance on race considerations in higher education aligns with his commitment to justice. For example, in the class of 2018, only 66 percent of Black students with disabilities, 71 percent of Latinx students with disabilities, 77 percent of white students with disabilities, and 79 percent of Asian-American students with disabilities completed high school.
By contrast, in the class of 2018, 89 percent of white students without disabilities graduate with a high school diploma, as did 79 percent of African-American students without disabilities, 81 percent of Latinx students without disabilities, 92 percent of Asian-American students without disabilities.
Furthermore, just seven percent of students born with a disability graduate from college.
Question 1 of the Questionnaire was: What is your plan for ensuring that all students with disabilities receive quality and appropriate education to acquire the critical and marketable skills necessary to compete in a job-driven economy?
Below, read the answers from the candidates who responded. These responses are listed alphabetically by state:
Olympia, WA, Oct. 6 – In the run up to the 2020 election in Washington, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Washington State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of Washingtonians with disabilities is 934,396, making up 12.6 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data shows that there are 478,622 working-age people with disabilities living in Washington State. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 195,251 of those Washingtonians had a job and the Evergreen State had a disability employment rate of 40.8 percent.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in Washington who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
Columbia, SC, Oct. 6 – In the run up to the 2020 election in South Carolina, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest South Carolina State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of South Carolinians with disabilities is 717,104, making up 14.4 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data shows that there are 366,373 working-age people with disabilities living in South Carolina. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 122,332 of those South Carolinians had a job and the Palmetto State had a disability employment rate of 33.4 percent.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in South Carolina who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
Santa Fe, NM, Oct. 6 – In the run up to the 2020 election in New Mexico, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest New Mexico State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of New Mexicans with disabilities is 326,580, making up 15.8o percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data shows that there are 159,258 working-age people with disabilities living in New Mexico. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 53,008 of those New Mexicans had a job and the Land of Enchantment had a disability employment rate of 33.3 percent.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in New Mexico who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
Juneau, AK, Oct. 5 – In the run up to the 2020 election in Alaska, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Alaska State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of Alaskans with disabilities is 89,491 and they make up 12.6 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data show that there are 51,416 working-age people with disabilities in Alaska. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 21,966 (or 43 percent) of those Alaskans had jobs.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in Alaska who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
Atlanta, GA, Oct. 5 – In the run up to the 2020 election for in Georgia, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Georgia State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of Georgians with disabilities is 1,246,077, making up 12.1 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data show that there are 658,811 working-age people with disabilities in Georgia. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 238,875 (or 36.3 percent) of those Georgians have a job.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in Georgia who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
Boise, ID, Oct. 5 – In the run up to the 2020 election in Idaho, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Idaho State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of Idahoans with disabilities is 233,494 and they make up 13.5 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data show that there are 117,561 working-age people with disabilities in Idaho. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 49,464 (or 42.1 percent) of those Idahoans had jobs.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in Idaho who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
Springfield, IL, Oct. 5 – In the run up to the 2020 election in Illinois, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Illinois State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of Illinoisans with disabilities is 1,392,622 and they make up 11.1 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data show that there are 675,092 working-age people with disabilities in Illinois. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 257,496 (or 38.1 percent) of those Illinoisans had jobs.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in Illinois who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
Frankfort, KY, Oct. 5 – In the run up to the 2020 election for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Kentucky State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of Kentuckians with disabilities is 762,102, making up 17.4 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data show that there are 417,808 working-age people with disabilities in Kentucky. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 127,820 (or 30.6 percent) of those Kentuckians had jobs.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in Kentucky who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
Jackson, MS, Oct. 5 – In the run up to the 2020 election in Mississippi, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Mississippi State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of Mississippians with disabilities is 480,783, making up 16.5 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data show that there are 262,760 working-age people with disabilities in Mississippi. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 74,874 (or 28.5 percent) of those Mississippians had jobs.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in Mississippi who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
Concord, NH, Oct. 5 – In the run up to the 2020 election in New Hampshire, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest New Hampshire State Voter Guide. According to the 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, the total number of New Hampshirites with disabilities is 174,791, making up 13 percent of the total state population.
2018 employment data shows that there are 90,754 working-age people with disabilities living in New Hampshire. In the economic expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 39,742 of those peoplk had a job and the Granite State had a disability employment rate of 43.8 percent.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates for President, Governor and the U.S. Senate the same seven key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, criminal justice and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire. Below you can read responses from candidates on the ballot in New Hampshire who have already taken the time to address the concerns of voters with disabilities.
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