Facts About Voters With Disabilities
- There are 51 million people with disabilities in America. Of these 54 million people, 33 million have a severe disability.
- Most disabilities are invisible. Invisible disabilities include cancer, diabetes, some forms of multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, AIDS, heart disease, learning disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, etc.
- There are more than 35 million voting-age persons with disabilities in the United States.
- 21 million people with disabilties are registered to vote. 41 percent did not vote in the last presidential election. People with disabilities vote at a rate that is 20 percentage points less than the rest of the population.
- In the 2000 presidential election, between 14 and 17 million people with disabilities voted. However, 21 million voting-aged citizens with disabilities did not vote.
- About 56 percent of people ages 21 to 64 who had a disability were employed at some point in the one-year period prior to the interview. People with a severe disability status reported the lowest employment rate (43 percent). This compared with the employment rates of people with a nonsevere disability (82 percent) and those with no reported disability (88 percent).
- Similarly, 33 percent of people ages 25 to 64 with a nonsevere disability and 22 percent with a severe disability were college graduates. The corresponding rate for those without a disability was 43 percent.
- Of those ages 15 to 64, 36 percent with a severe disability used a computer and 29 percent used the Internet at home.
- Older non-disabled Americans have a high rate of voter turnout. Older Americans with disabilities have a low rate of voter turnout.
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Voters with disabilities must be able to do each part, privately and independently.
