8/21/25 - Mail-in voting
Good afternoon!
Just one topic to read and think about for today's newsletter ...
Trump says he will lead 'movement' to end mail-in voting
Hannah Demissie, ABC News - August 18, 2025
"President Donald Trump on Monday wrote in a post to his social media platform that he will lead a "movement" to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines, claiming, without providing evidence, that they lead to voter fraud."
Disability Voting News: August 20, 2025
Sarah Blahovec, The Accessible Voting Booth - August 20, 2025
"Voting by mail is essential for voters who have difficulty traveling to the polling place or accessing reliable transportation, as well as voters who have energy-limiting disabilities or illnesses that make leaving the home difficult or impossible. It is also vital for many voters in rural areas. For example, in 2024, 68% of Montana voters requested absentee ballots. In rural communities, getting to the nearest polling place may require hours of travel."
Trump’s Promise to End Vote-by-Mail Is Yet Another Attack on Disabled Voters
Julia Métraux, Mother Jones - August 18, 2025
"'There are so many complicating factors for people in terms of things like transportation or maybe a chronic condition, which would mean that sometimes they are able to get to the polls and sometimes they aren’t,' said Hassenstab ... Disabled people have the same range of political viewpoints as any other group of voters, Hassenstab said, and an executive order on against mail-in ballots 'is really disenfranchising in terms of people’s ability to participate on both sides of the aisle.'"
Anything that adds more steps, logistical hurdles, or time constraints to the voting process makes it exponentially harder for disabled people to vote. For people with disabilities, it's not just a little harder, but a lot harder when more barriers, restrictions, and requirements are added. All but eliminating an entire option for voting does the same.
I urge everyone interested in disabled people in the US to get this new effort by President Trump on their advocacy radar screen, even if that screen is already quite full. The linked articles explain the issue well. Trump is going after not only mail-in voting, but also some of the most disability-accessible mechanisms for polling place voting, which he supposedly trusts more than mail-in voting. So voting any any form, at any location, would be more difficult or even impossible for more disabled people than ever. Lots of issues deserve to be high priorities right now. But this one is a good candidate for top priority, at least until we know whether or not Trump's initiative will go anywhere.
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