DCDL is proud to announce our participation in the National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW) during the week of September 13-20, 2021. NDVRW is a national, nonpartisan campaign to register, educate, and prepare voters with disabilities for the 2021 elections and beyond. NDVRW is coordinated by the American Association of People with Disabilities’ (AAPD) REV UP Voting Campaign. REV UP stands for Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!

The disability vote has never been more powerful. Despite being twice as likely to face voting barriers as people without disabilities, disabled voters have continued to demonstrate their political power each election. Last election, in the midst of a pandemic, over 17 million people with disabilities cast their ballots.

Following an election with record turnout, this NDVRW, we are focusing on the message that voting is powerful. One in 4 adults in America lives with a disability, and it’s important that they also participate in elections. Voting helps hold leaders accountable to make decisions that ensure people with disabilities have equal access to things like employment, community living, education, transportation, healthcare, and more.

This year, the Delaware County District Library is partnering with the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities (DCBDD) to bring recognition to voter registration and participation. Contact DCBDD if you need assistance registering or making it to the polls on election day. Know your rights. Vote.

Justin Dart, father of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), said it best: “Vote as if your life depended on it, because it does.”

Be sure to visit the Delaware Library Voter Services page to see important dates for this election cycle, how you can register to vote, and what rights you have as a voter.