Record Number of People with Disabilities Voted in 2008 Election

New numbers released show Americans with disabilities voted in record numbers in the 2008 presidential election, according to the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country’s largest cross-disability membership organization.

According to a study by Lisa Schur and Douglas Kruse, professors at the School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University, who have conducted numerous studies on voting and people with disabilities, 3.8 million more people with disabilities voted in the 2008 presidential election than the 2000 presidential election.

According to the study, 14.7 million Americans with disabilities voted in the 2008 presidential election. About 10.9 million Americans with disabilities voted in the 2000 presidential election.

“The 2002 passage of the Help America Vote Act, which mandates voting be accessible, created enormous energy in the disability community,” said AAPD’s Vice President for Organizing and Civic Engagement Jim Dickson. AAPD has been leading nonpartisan voter registration and education drives amongst the nation’s 56 million people with disabilities since 2001.

Complete Press Release