{"id":1194,"date":"2025-09-16T20:15:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T20:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:declasi.org\/news-and-stories\/uncategorized\/disability-rights-delaware-recognizes-national-voter-registration-day-with-call-for-accessible-and-inclusive-elections\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T10:29:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:29:24","slug":"disability-rights-delaware-recognizes-national-voter-registration-day-with-call-for-accessible-and-inclusive-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.declasi.org\/es\/news-and-stories\/press-releases\/disability-rights-delaware-recognizes-national-voter-registration-day-with-call-for-accessible-and-inclusive-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Disability Rights Delaware Recognizes National Voter Registration Day with Call for Accessible and Inclusive Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0September 16, 2025
\nFOR FURTHER INFORMATION:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Margaretta Kroeger,\u00a0mkroeger@declasi.org<\/a><\/u><\/div>\n

\nDisability Rights Delaware Recognizes National Voter Registration Day with Call for Accessible and Inclusive Elections<\/p>\n

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WILMINGTON, DE\u2014On National Voter Registration Day,\u00a0Derechos de los discapacitados en Delaware<\/a><\/u>\u00a0joins communities across the country in celebrating the power of the vote and highlighting the importance of accessible voter registration for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

As of 2022, more than 25% of Delaware\u2019s adult residents\u2014or\u00a0205,381 Delawareans<\/a><\/u>\u2014were living with a disability, as were\u00a0about 73 million U.S. adults<\/a><\/u>\u00a0nationwide. Yet, people with disabilities vote at lower rates as they continue to face barriers to registering and casting their ballots\u2014from inaccessible forms and websites, to lack of information in plain language, to polling places that are not fully accessible.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Disability Rights Delaware, which is the state\u2019s federally mandated\u00a0Protection & Advocacy agency<\/a><\/u>\u00a0for people with disabilities, assessed over 90% of Delaware\u2019s polling places during the General Election. Their\u00a0resulting report<\/a><\/u>\u00a0found that\u00a0more than half of sites violated accessible parking laws<\/a><\/u>\u00a0<\/b>by having spaces that were too small, too far away from accessible entrances, or located on uneven surfaces. Other prevalent accessibility issues included inadequate signage for accessible routes and entrances, obstructed and\/or uneven paths to voting areas, and poll workers\u2019\u00a0<\/a>lack of\u00a0familiarity with rights and accessibility options for voters with disabilities. Such barriers undermine full and equal participation in our democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cVoting is a fundamental and consequential right,\u201d says\u00a0Nina Kegelman, Voting Rights Advocate at Disability Rights Delaware<\/b>. \u201cWhen people with disabilities are excluded or face obstacles to any part of the voting process, our communities, small and large, miss out on their perspectives and their leadership on issues affecting all of us. We want every voter with a disability to know: your vote matters, and we are here to help you exercise that right.\u201d<\/p>\n

National Voter Registration Day<\/a>\u00a0is an opportunity to remind eligible voters to register, check their voter registration status, and\u00a0<\/a>make a plan\u00a0to vote for the upcoming election season. For voters with disabilities, preparation can be especially important\u2014whether that means requesting an accessible ballot, securing needed accommodations at the polls, or making sure information about the ballot or their voting rights is available in plain language or alternative formats.<\/p>\n

Disability Rights Delaware, housed within\u00a0Community Legal Aid Society, Inc.<\/a><\/u>, has a Protection & Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA) program that\u00a0can assist with a range of services to support Delaware voters with disabilities, including<\/b>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n