During the last presidential election, my twentysomething family member with developmental disabilities was excited to get to the voting booth.

“You want to choose the right people to lead,” she said. “You don’t want someone who’s rude to people with disabilities, that’s just not right.”

She wanted her voice to count, which is a fundamental civil right (well, more about that later) as well as a moral one, as conveyed in the disability rights movement’s “Nothing About Us Without Us” rallying cry.

That expression shows “people are claiming their lives, they deserve to be part of the conversation,” says Jonathan Goldwasser, senior supervisor and facilitator of the Hudson Valley self-advocacy group at YAI, an organization serving people with I/DD. “One key way that can be practiced is voting, which lets [people with disabilities] participate as citizens in the decisions made by their local communities and at the state and federal levels. It’s a small piece in that it happens [infrequently] but it’s a major way for them to raise their voice.”

There are over 34 million eligible voters with disabilities nationwide, according to Disability Rights New York, making the disability community “a substantial voting bloc with the capacity to impact elections and policy.” It’s critical that the community participate in the electoral process, especially as politicians tend to focus on an issue only if it can turn into a vote.

“Politicians’ No. 1 concern is if they’re going to win the election,” says Scott Karolidis, YAI’s director of government relations. “We had an assemblymember come in to discuss various issues and she kept asking, a little rudely, ‘Do these people vote?’ She was very concerned for herself. It helps if they understand that if they do the right thing, whether increasing funding for staff wages or passing laws that support civil rights, people with disabilities, their friends and families are more likely to vote for them.”

Often, it’s up to family caregivers and service providers to help ensure that these votes happen. Here’s how.

THE UPCOMING NOV. 7 ELECTION

This general election (meaning the candidates are the ones who will get into office) is a chance for a person with a developmental disability to take a “practice” run before the 2024 presidential election even if they’ve voted before. The ballot will include a New York Supreme Court Justice and, in the lower Hudson Valley, a Westchester County Court Judge and Yonkers City Mayor. (See “Who’s on the Ballot” below for your local and NYS races.)

Parents who pursue guardianship of their adult child with a developmental disability may worry that guardianship will endanger their child’s right to vote.

While New York Election Law § 5-106(6) states that no person who has been adjudged incompetent may vote in New York State, New York’s Article 17A guardianship law, which provides for guardianship of a person with a developmental or intellectual disability, “is silent as to declaring a person incompetent,” says Sandi Rosenbaum, a Special Education / Special Needs Advocate at Littman Krooks, LLP.

“Rather, it addresses whether such a person needs a guardian to make personal, financial, and medical decisions for them to protect their interests. Thus, a finding that a person requires a guardian does not inherently constitute a finding of incompetence, and being subject to Article 17A guardianship does not, on its own, deny a person’s eligibility to vote.”