CLEVELAND–All Voting is Local launched an education campaign featuring multimedia ads and video outreach to empower voters with a range of intellectual and physical disabilities to know their rights at the polls.
“Voters with disabilities face very real barriers to the ballot and a critical piece of removing those obstacles is emphasizing that voters know they have the right to vote, regardless of their disability,” said Mike Brickner, State Director of All Voting is Local Ohio. “People may not realize that the law requires election officials to offer assistance and accommodations to any voter who needs it.”
The campaign, “Your Vote Matters Ohio,” features digital and paratransit ads as well as an education video produced by Milestones Autism Resources in Cleveland, which offers education and coaching for families and professionals who work with people with autism.
The video featuring Milestones clients with a range of disabilities and has two versions – one with sound and another with sound and full audio description. In the video, clients encourage people to cast a ballot, regardless of whether they can speak, read or hear, if they are in a hospital, or if they need any other assistance. The video directs viewers to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website for more information about how to vote and how to seek help doing so.
“Since people with disabilities are so rarely featured in advertisements, we wanted to feature a diverse group of people from these communities speaking passionately about their rights,” said Brickner. “This representation matters.”
All Voting is Local is reaching out to local service providers for people with disabilities to empower them about their right to vote. They will be using accessible materials designed by Milestones Autism Resources, All Voting is Local, and the ACLU of Ohio.
The ads are part of All Voting is Local Ohio’s broader advocacy for voters with disabilities, including developing a second, longer video for people with disabilities to offer direct education on how the voting process works from start to finish. Additionally, All Voting is Local is working with trained speakers to go out to providers of services of people with disabilities to speak to them about their rights.
The “Your Vote Matters Ohio” video can be watched in its entirety here.
###
All Voting is Local fights for the right to vote through a unique combination of data-driven organizing, advocacy and communications. It is a collaborative campaign housed at The Leadership Conference Education Fund, in conjunction with Access Democracy; the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation; the American Constitution Society; the Campaign Legal Center; and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law