Disability Vote Coalition Updates
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1-844-DIS-VOTE www.disabilityvote.org Date: March 23, 2021 To: BPDD Board From:Barbara Beckert, Disability Rights Wisconsin, [email protected] Jenny Neugart, BPDD, [email protected] Re: Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition Update This has been a busy time for the Disability Vote Coalition (DVC) with elections occurring in February and April and consideration of policy changes that would have a significant impact on many voters with disabilities and older adults. We invite all board members to join our email list by signing up at https://disabilityvote.org/ If you are on Facebook, please “like” us, invite your friends, and share our posts. We also ask for your help to educate policy makers about the importance of voting rights and policies that are accessible and inclusive of voters with disabilities. As discussed in this report, new bills have been introduced that may make it harder for many people with disabilities and older adults to vote. This document summarizes DVC priorities and activities since the last report. 2021 Spring Elections and Special Legislative Elections With important election held on February 16th and coming up April 6th, the Coalition has developed new resources, provided trainings, and held a candidate forum for State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidates. We encourage board members to follow us on Facebook and to promote Coalition resources and the DRW Voter Hotline. Please consider yourself a voting ambassador! The Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition is a project of Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities and Disability Rights Wisconsin New and updated DVC Fact Sheets for the Spring Elections The DVC developed new fact sheets for the Spring election and updated current fact sheets. Our new Circuit Court fact sheet and State Superintendent of Public Instruction fact sheet provide are intended to educate voters about why these elected offices are so important for people with disabilities. The following fact sheets were developed or updated – click on the link to see the resource: Make Your Plan to Vote in the Spring Elections State Superintendent of Public Instruction Fact Sheet Circuit Court Fact Sheet Absentee Voting in Wisconsin Residential Service Providers: Resources for Voters with Disabilities Large Print Versions State Superintendent Fact Sheet - LP Circuit Court Judge Fact Sheet - LP Spanish versions Planifique Su Voto (Make Your Plan to Vote in the Spring Elections) Hoja De Datos Del Tribunal De Circuito de Wisconsin (Circuit Court Fact Sheet) Hoja Informativa Del Superintendente (Superintendent Fact Sheet) Votacion en ausencia en Wisconsin (Absentee Voting in Wisconsin) Conozca Sus Derechos (Know Your Rights) E-Newsletter The Disability Vote Coalition e-newsletter has been published 4 times this years. It is widely distributed including to DHS listservs which reach over 10,000 subscribers, and promotes voting resources and trainings. Find A Ride to the Polls Limited access to transportation is a barrier for many people with disabilities who want to vote. For the April 2021 election, the DVC is again offering the resource on our website “Find a Ride to the Polls.” It has information about transportation available around the state. This was developed with the input and support of many wonderful partners including ADRCs, counties, transportation providers, and others. 2 SABE SURVEY The DVC partnered with SABE (Self Advocates Becoming Empowered) to survey voters with disabilities about their voting experience in the November election. The SABE 2020 Voter Experience Survey Results will be available later this year. 86 surveys were collected from Wisconsin. A highlight of this years survey was a wonderful video produced by self advocates and shared on the Self Determination channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUaFMF-hBqo Outreach to Student Voters The Education and Outreach subcommittee has connected with a group called the Wisconsin Campus Vote Project. They have a presence on many campuses statewide. We are hoping that this will be an avenue for us to reach out to students on campus with disabilities. We were able to participate in their virtual “Voter Summit” where we connected with over 50 college students and shared voting information and our materials. The Milwaukee County Transition Advisory Board (MCTAB) expressed an interest in partnering with us to work with transition programs at the schools in Milwaukee county doing voter education and outreach. After an initial call with them during March, we have a meeting scheduled in May to explore the idea further. State Superintendent of Public Instruction and candidate forum The State Superintendent has an important role in ensuring that schools districts meet their responsibilities to students with disabilities as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). On March 4th. the Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition hosted a State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate forum. The forum was an opportunity to hear from candidates Deborah Kerr and Jill Underly about how they would address the needs of students with disabilities, including mental health needs. The forum was designed to be accessible to all, with captioning and ASL interpreters. It was live-streamed by WisconsinEye. 179 registered for this event. We received 58 questions from community members, indicating a high degree of interest in this topic. The forum may be viewed at the DVC website at: https://disabilityvote.org/2021/march-4th-candidate-forum-video-recording-available/ In addition to DRW and BPDD, co-sponsors included Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force, NAMI Wisconsin, People First Wisconsin, Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations, Wisconsin Coalition of Independent Living Centers, Wisconsin 3 Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Milwaukee Coalition for Children’s Mental Health, Mental Health America of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Family Ties. WISCONSIN ELECTION COMMISSION We continue to work closely with the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC). During the reporting period, Barbara provided testimony/ public comments to the WEC four times, regarding voter experiences in the 2020 elections, and suggestions for ensuring the voting rights of people with disabilities and older adults who are residents of care facilities. The decision about when to use Special Voting Deputies during the pandemic has been a very difficult one and generated a lot of dialogue. DVC leadership also serve on the WEC Accessibility Advisory Committee which met in February. Committee members shared observations from the February election, data regarding indefinitely confined voters, updated on options for use of Special Voting Deputies, and future direction for the Accessibility Program which audits polling places on election day. We also provided recommendations regarding the accessibility of absentee voting drop boxes. The DVC nominated the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) for a U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) 2020 Clearinghouse Award for their work to improve accessibility for voters with disabilities. The “Clearie” Awards were announced on March 4th and we were pleased to learn that WEC was one of four national award recipients for improving accessibility for voters with disabilities. Legislative Audit Bureau In February 2021, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee held a public hearing on whether to conduct an audit of the November 2020 election. We submitted testimony for the DVC about the voting experience of many Wisconsinites who have a disability and older adults. We recommended that the audit of election administration provide an opportunity to address the need to ensure the rights and accommodations that are essential to preserving participation of Wisconsinites with disabilities in the electoral process. At the hearing, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approved an audit of elections administration, particularly focusing on the November 2020 election. The Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) is conducting the Audit. Barbara and Kit Kerschensteiner from DRW were interviewed by LAB staff. 4 Voting Bills State legislators have introduced a number of bills that could make it harder for many voters with disabilities and older adults to vote. This is part of a national trend. We have provided a separate update on the voting bills to supplement this report. Several of the bills would make it hard to vote absentee and would virtually eliminate the current option for some voters with disabilities and older adults to be “permanent absentee voters”, which Wisconsin law calls an “indefinitely confined voter.” If you are concerned about these bills and efforts to make it harder to vote for people with disabilities, please contact your elected officials. If you are willing to provide public comments or want more information, please contact Barbara or Jenny. We need your help to educate state legislators about the rights of voters with disabilities, accessibility, and accommodations. This is a high priority given the concern that the legislature is expected to consider proposals that may restrict some of the provisions that are important to votes with disabilities. State Budget and Voting The state budget has some very positive proposals to support voting rights. • Automatic Voter Registration (AVR): option to automatically register to vote or update voter registration when getting or renewing a driver’s license or state photo ID. • Restores residency requirements for voting to 10 days prior