The Community That May Be Hurt Most by Republican Voter Restrictions: Americans With Disabilities

The Community That May Be Hurt Most by Republican Voter Restrictions: Americans With Disabilities

The Community That May Be Hurt Most by Republican Voter Restrictions: Americans With Disabilities

Bills making it harder for them to vote from home are an affront to their civil rights.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.

The fallout from former president Donald Trump’s Big Lie about voter fraud in the 2020 election continues to mount. Republican state lawmakers have introduced an onslaught of bills limiting voting access, which do next to nothing to increase “election integrity” but make it harder for all Americans to vote.

These efforts are a particularly severe threat to communities for whom voting can already be difficult. In fact, preventing people from being able to vote from home is a direct attack on the civil rights of people with disabilities.

The expansion of mail-in voting in 2020 made it significantly easier for Americans with disabilities to engage in the electoral process. Turnout among these voters increased by six percentage points between 2016 and 2020, amounting to 1.7 million more voters. Last year, only 11 percent of voters with disabilities reported having trouble voting, a number that remains too high but is a significant improvement from the 26 percent who faced voting issues in 2012.

Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.

Support independent journalism that exposes oligarchs and profiteers


Donald Trump’s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches.

Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience. That’s what The Nation has done for 160 years and that’s what we’re doing now.

Our independent journalism doesn’t allow injustice to go unnoticed or unchallenged—nor will we abandon hope for a better world. Our writers, editors, and fact-checkers are working relentlessly to keep you informed and empowered when so much of the media fails to do so out of credulity, fear, or fealty.

The Nation has seen unprecedented times before. We draw strength and guidance from our history of principled progressive journalism in times of crisis, and we are committed to continuing this legacy today.

We’re aiming to raise $25,000 during our Spring Fundraising Campaign to ensure that we have the resources to expose the oligarchs and profiteers attempting to loot our republic. Stand for bold independent journalism and donate to support The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x