Across the nation, they are registering to vote in record numbers, demanding that more polling places be accessible to wheelchairs, and benefiting as never before from Braille ballots and high-tech machines that enable the blind to vote without help. In addition, said Jim Dickson, who heads a registration and turnout drive for the National Organization on Disability, candidates are paying more attention to the disabled. It's a huge difference. The Census Bureau estimates the number of disabled Americans at 54 million, including 34 million of voting age. That includes not only those who are blind, deaf or use wheelchairs, but also those with chronic diseases or mental disabilities.
Disabled people vote at a lower rate than non-disabled people.
In 1996, for example, an estimated 30 percent of voting-age disabled people cast ballots, compared with an overall turnout of 49 percent. Hoping to increase the clout of its constituency, the National Organization on Disability launched a campaign called Vote 2000 a year ago. Dickson said 500,000 new disabled voters have been registered. Disabled-rights groups also are pressing for improved access to polling places. Dickson estimates that one-third of the country's 120,000 polling places are not fully accessible.