Disability Voting Rights Week

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

WHEREAS, on July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which codified protections against discrimination for people with disabilities, required employers to begin providing reasonable accommodations, and established accessibility requirements in public places; and,

WHEREAS, there are over 61 million Americans with disabilities living in communities throughout the United States and over 1.6 million people with disabilities reside in Virginia; and,

WHEREAS, the disability community has a critical interest in policies and decisions made and enacted at local, state, and national levels that directly impact the lives of people who have disabilities; and,

WHEREAS, ensuring voting access to people with disabilities is essential to ensure policy decisions meet the real needs of people with disabilities in our communities; and,

WHEREAS, voting is an effective way for the disability community to influence decision makers and the policies that impact the disability community; and,

WHEREAS, making voting accessible for citizens of all abilities by ensuring fully accessible polling places, accessible voting machines, expanding mail-in and absentee voting options among other considerations is vital to protecting the voting rights of all Virginians; and,

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Virginia supports the growing involvement of the disability community in the political process and commends groups dedicated to advancing disability rights across our state;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize September 12-16, 2022, as DISABILITY VOTING RIGHTS WEEK in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA and call this observance to the attention of our citizens.

Governor of Virginia

Proclamations