"Everybody Counts, Everybody Matters" is my congressmember, Keith Ellison's, campaign slogan. He means it, and using the abilities of every volunteer was how that then newby state legislator won the Democratic Farmer Labor Party endorsement, primary, and general election.
We Minnesota democrats started on this path to full participation a couple decades back. Sure, we did the athletic walk all over town canvassing. But we also did phone banks, had visually impaired folks produce braille and large print campaign materials, developmentally disabled democrats canvassing their disabled/senior housing project, and a quadraplegic in his power wheelchair holding down the fort back at the campaign office.
But sadly, in too many campaign offices this year the unspoken slogan has been "If you can't canvass, you don't count". In the spirit of constructive criticism and making positive contributions I'll start the discussion below the fold, detailing the demographics of people with disabilities and describing best practices for campaigns. I invite your contributions to this discussion, so please join in- we need everyone's involvement and contributions.
Depending how disability is defined, differently abled voters are at least 10% and may be over 20% of the electorate. That's as big a block of votes as African American or Hispanic voters, and maybe as big as both. The disabled demographic skews older, simply because our bodies start to wear out as we get old. In fact, one state seriously considered giving handicapped parking permits to seniors without medical documentation simply because they found over 80% of seniors were eligible anyways. This age spread creates a dichotomy in political affiliation- many older disabled folks vote republican while republican elected officials vote against them. It's not rocket science that these older disabled folks are fertile targets for persuasion.
Unemployment is a sad fact of life for too many disabled folks too- when the ADA was passed two thirds of disabled adults were unemployed, and thanks to the republicans, today two thirds are still unemployed. With that problem comes an opportunity- there are literally millions of unemployed disabled folks available to campaign. But we're by and large not wealthy or even middle class- my monthly income is about $1500, and I know disabled folks that are trying to survive on only half that. Thus while there is a large pool of disabled potential campaign interns, most probably can't afford to cover their own travel and housing expenses on the campaign trail. In Minnesota statewide campaigns tend to provide interns with an adaquate stipend for housing and reimburse transportation expenses- a best practice that should be a model for all campaigns.
Which brings up the issue of mobility- while some disabled folks like me drive all over the place, many disabled folks can't drive. As such, even getting to the polls can be a problem. Here in Minneapolis my polling place is right across the street and is wheelchair accessable. In fact it's in a public housing building where many disabled folks live. But at my country home in Pope County, many disabled voters have to find a ride 10 miles or more to their polling place. Even if mobility is impossible or impractical, there's always the absentee ballot. Best practice- have absentee ballot info and if possible absentee ballot applications handy at the campaign office and while canvassing. Have drivers lined up to give rides to the polls on election day, and having a wheelchair accessable van or bus available is even better. Differently abled volunteers can campaign from home too if they can't make it to the campaign office or out canvassing- research, phone banking, etc. can be done from home just as well as at from the campaign office. Best practice- disabled campaigners working from home may not be able to afford long distance calls, so provide them with a cell phone or campaign provided long distance service.
Disabled folks are often concentrated in accessable apartment buildings and near medical centers- I've even heard the term "gimp ghetto" bandied about. For the conventional campaign this presents a challenge trying to get through the security doors to canvass the disabled folks inside. Best practice: Back when I was a precinct chair in south Minneapolis half the population of the precinct lived in one senior/disabled high rise apartment building. We had two wheelchair using volunteers that canvassed the building for us. Thanks to their hard work that building produced 80% of the democratic vote in the precinct.
Finally, how do we use the abilities of all these differently able people if they can't canvass? We use their abilities instead of brushing them aside because of their disabilities. The senior who can't walk far but keeps the campaign office open and stocked with fresh cookies is just as valuable as the young canvasser that can knock off a hundred contacts a day. Same for the retired farmer who fixes the young interns cars and covers his restored old tractor with campaign signs and drives it in the parades. Likewise for the blind campaigner who transcribes campaign materials into braille, large print, and audio tapes. The deaf campaigner who organizes a high school or college democrats group at their Academy for the Deaf. Or the "Aspy" (high functioning autistic) young man who bombs as a canvasser, but has the county map and precinct by precinct vote for the last election memorized and can cut turf like it's nobody's business.
So enough of my rantings- please join in the discussion and tell us how we go from "If you can't canvass, you don't count" to "Everybody Counts, Everybody Matters"!