9/9/25 - Disabled voting, and a new disability blog program

Good afternoon!

I took Monday off to finish a couple of the home projects I've been working on this summer. So here are three link for Tuesday that were originally planned for Monday …

Disability Voting Rights Week is Almost Here!

American Association of People with Disabilities

"The disability community is a significant voting bloc, but our community faces many barriers to the ballot. Inaccessible polling places, laws criminalizing voter assistance, limited accessible transportation, restrictive guardianship laws, and ableism across the political process prevent many people from accessing their right to vote."

Disability Voting News: September 3, 2025

Sarah Blahovec, The Accessible Voting Booth - September 3, 2025

"Mail Voting is Under Attack (Again): On August 25th, The Voting Rights Lab published this helpful explainer to combat misinformation about voting by mail. In it, they explain how mail voting is safe, secure, and non-partisan and how some states are trying to ban mail voting (just as Trump is trying to do at the federal level)."

The first link explains Disability Voting Rights Week in the US, with further inks to materials we can use to promote it. The second piece is the latest issue of Sarah Blahovec’s voting accessibility blog. The quote is from one of several articles linked in it, this one focused on efforts to ban mail-in voting in the US.

This week seems like a good time to think about what, exactly, disabled people need in order to have equal access to democracy, including:

• The simplest and most flexible possible ways to register and to vote, with fewer steps, generous deadlines, and no direct or indirect costs.
• Accessible polling sites – where we can get to it, get in, vote alongside our neighbors. go to the bathroom if we need to, and get out safely, independently, and without destroying our physical and mental well-being.
• Voting mechanisms that people with any disability can use independently, without needing extra help to cast a vote.
• More than one day or time available to vote.
• More than one alternative way to vote other than polling sites — such as voting from home / mail-in ballots available on request, without bureaucratic hurdles.
• Flexibility for disabled people to get help from another person to vote if we want it.
• Securing all disabled adults‘ legal right to vote – making it harder for courts to take that right away and easier to get it back when it is taken away.

At a time when the pillars and principles of democracy are under siege, it’s doubly important for disabled people everywhere to continue pushing to be fully included in the exercise of democracy.

Blending the Personal and the Political: An Introduction to AAPD’s Blog Program

Naomi Hess, American Association of People with Disabilities - August 20, 2025

"AAPD’s guest blog program seeks to amplify disabled voices and allow members of the disability community to share their unique perspectives. Each post draws on the writer’s lived experiences, demonstrating why a particular policy area matters to the blogger, and/or celebrating their disability pride. Contributors write one post on a topic of their choice, and they will receive a stipend for their work."

This new AAPD guest blog isn’t accepting pitches yet. But it seems like it will soon. I look forward to seeing how it adds to the disability writing space.

Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe — for free, or with a paid subscription.

A free subscription sends a newsletter to your email each weekday, and gives you access to the comments. Benefits of paid subscription also include:

• A monthly recap with links to all of the previous month's shared articles, organized by topic.
• Listing as a supporter, and a link to your website if you have one.
• You can recommend one disability-related article for me to share per month in a weekday post.

To to subscribe, upgrade to paid, or make a one-time donation, click one of the buttons below:

I am so grateful for your help and engagement, in whichever forms you choose!