The Sleeping Giant

I'm putting a newsletter together for a non-profit group in Florida. Doing my research, I found out that 34 million Americans are disabled but most do not vote due to inaccessibility to polling areas.

It's not just wheelchair ramps that keep them away. It's the way they are treated, inaccessibility for blindness, deaf voters and other disabilities.

And get this, if given the opportunity to vote, most would vote democrat. There is an estimated 2,345,000 potential disabled voters just in Florida. That is 15% if the population according to the Census Bureau.

What an untapped resource of people who need our help and who's help we need.

something I thought about before, but didn't realize the magnitude of.
maybe we should press some of our local governments to take a look at this. Maybe pass some laws to increase accessability for the disabled.

I think dem politicians should be made aware that this group needs attention.

voters -- they want to be sure they can flip their votes and make 'em Republican.

How can disabled voters be provided a means to vote that complies with HAVA yet can't be rigged? Is there any such animal out there?

for the disable...like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

My green experience is that disabled people need advocacy and assistance. Some of the people I've met here have nothing...and I mean nothing. Dem politicians need to know that.

being disabled you gain insight most don't see. no problem casting a vote where we want it.

I just had lunch with a gang of wheelchairs and it was interesting watching the reactions of the servers and the other customers. Some people actually were "put out" by the wheelchairs. They had to squeeze by them to get to the rest rooms.

but this Canuck is not a citizen of Fla. Alas! Or maybe not.

Regardless, I hope that you can really pull this off. However, it will not be easy...not only due to barriers, but possibly due to inspiring some people to actually feel the fighting spirit to do whatever it takes to get through the barriers.

There is a new center being built here. The land was donated and the building is quite nice. I hope it attracts some attention to the center as they do some amazing work.

I have learned to build computers by volunteering to help refurbish donated ones which they give to disabled people. I met one guy who did not have the strength or the desire to get out of bed until this group gave him a computer. Now he's online, learning how to use Publisher and FrontPage...he's a totally different man. It's a great thing.

Key is: empowerment (even perceiving oneself to be empowered makes a huge difference).

and realize they can be creative.

for ALL disabled individuals . . . HOWEVER, we cannot let this admirable goal allow touchscreen systems to be foisted upon us . . . that's cutting off our nose to spite our face, if you will . . .

depending on Diebold, of course.

It's absentee or electronic, to get these people their access to voting.

I'm sure some do, but maybe it's because most are involved in trying to pay their rent, get the services they need....tough to say why. They need to be contacted.

Thanks!

NGU.

I have a meeting in an hour with the disabled group I am doing the newletter for so I will have more info.