Disabled Voters Do Not Believe Politicians Care About Disabled Americans
By Matthew Cortland
Disabled voters are not widely recognized by politicians as a distinct group to be served as a constituency and courted as a voting bloc, even though 27% of American adults have a disability. Disability is a complicated and diverse demographic, encompassing not just the millions of people who rely on federal income support programs from Social Security and Veterans Affairs (the VA), but also millions of schoolchildren, workers, and retirees throughout the United States.
New Data for Progress polling finds that disabled voters report higher rates of accessibility barriers on Election Day compared to non-disabled voters. Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) disabled voters say they have difficulty waiting in line to vote. Disabled voters (11%) are also more than twice as likely as non-disabled voters (4%) to experience challenges getting to their polling places. Additionally, 7% of disabled voters report having difficulty understanding how to vote or use the voting equipment.
A majority of voters across party lines do not believe that public officials and politicians care about what people with disabilities think. This includes 58% of Democrats, 56% of Independents, and 52% of Republicans, as well as 61% of disabled voters.
Later in our survey, we asked voters if they think the Democratic and Republican parties should do more to protect the rights of Americans with disabilities. Notably, roughly two-thirds of disabled voters think both parties are not doing enough as is and should be doing more to protect disabled Americans. A strong majority of non-disabled voters also agree that both parties should be doing more.
We also find that majorities of voters support various actions to improve accessibility for elected officials with disabilities. An overwhelming majority support making buildings physically accessible (76%) and allowing service dogs (70%) for members of Congress with disabilities. Furthermore, a majority of voters support providing accommodations such as closed captioning (64%), American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters (61%), screen readers (59%), and materials in Braille (56%).
Matthew Cortland (@mattbc) is a senior resident fellow at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
In order to identify disabled voters, Data For Progress asked respondents if, in their day-to-day life, they experience difficulty hearing, seeing, or have a severe vision or hearing impairment; difficulty participating in activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying; difficulty remembering, concentrating, or learning due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition; difficulty dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition; difficulty living independently, for example, to shop or visit a doctor's office alone, due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition; or difficulty working at a job or business due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition.