Latest / Living Loud and Proud: Disability Conversations / REV UP Your Vote: A Guide To Disability Voting Featuring Shane Janick
Transcript
- Phill Rosen Voice Over 00:00:00 Welcome to the Living Loud and Proud Podcast brought to you by Disability Pride Pennsylvania. If you need a link to the transcript for this episode, please visit our accessible website at www.disabilitypridepa.org/podcast. And now, here is your host... Hey folks, producer Phill Rosen here with a quick announcement for an upcoming event. Disability Pride Pittston will be happening on Saturday, September 21. Join us and our collaborators, PA Inclusive, at 7 Spring Street in downtown Pittston, Pennsylvania. There will be live music, food trucks, arts, sensory friendly spaces, fun activities and more. We hope to see you there. And now on to the main episode... Phill Rosen 00:01:00 Hi folks! Phill Rosen, producer of the Living Loud and Proud Podcast here. Today's episode is about voting and disability. I have Shane Janick on today to discuss REV UP and supporting people with disabilities voting. But before we get into today's episode, I want to thank Highmark Wholecare for sponsoring our show. Shane Janick is the Executive Director at the Arc of Philadelphia. The Arc of Philadelphia focuses on advocacy for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to promote active citizenship, self determination and full inclusion. Shane is also a member of the REV UP Coalition, a group dedicated to fostering civic engagement and protecting the voting rights of Americans with disabilities. Shane, I understand you have a brother with IDD? Shane Janick 00:01:49 Yes, thanks for having me. Phill Rosen 00:01:52 Yeah. Shane Janick 00:01:52 And my brother really brought me into this mission and this work. I had a mentor a few years ago, mention that, 'Maybe you had been an advocate your whole life. You just didn't know what it was called.' So, having an older brother with IDD, he actually has severe intellectual disability, and a variety of medically complex diagnoses as well. He requires 24/7 care and supervision. So he still lives with my mom and support his life there, and really his experience and our experience growing up, started to shape my interest in getting involved in disability advocacy. So when I found the Arc, it was a great fit and happy to be a part of the mission here at the Arc of Philadelphia. Phill Rosen 00:02:39 Yeah. Well, you know, I really like the sentiment of that person that you talked to saying that you have been an advocate your whole life without really knowing it. That's, that's really beautiful. So can you give us a little background of the Arc for people who may not know about the Arc? Shane Janick 00:02:57 Yeah, for sure. So the Arc is the largest and oldest advocacy network for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the country. There are over 600 local chapters of the Arc. So really, anywhere you go, you can generally find some people that may be familiar with an Arc chapter. Every state also has a state chapter of the Arc that operates out of their capitals, doing a lot of the policy work that we'll be getting into today. And I like to mention too, especially for our podcast today and the topic today, that although our mission is specifically for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, many of, many of the issues that our mission will address is generalizable to a variety of other disability communities. We have a chance to learn from populations that are deaf and hard of hearing and who are blind and have low vision and seeing, where a lot of these same challenges that we face from a policy level and what we'll talk about today and voting accessibility are going to be relatable to many different disability communities. Phill Rosen 00:04:03 So is there anything notable about the Arc of Philadelphia, specifically? Shane Janick 00:04:08 Yeah. So the Arc of Philadelphia, we are actually the founding chapter of The Arc network. Phill Rosen 00:04:14 Oh, wow. Shane Janick 00:04:15 We were founded in 1948, we just celebrated our 75th anniversary. It's amazing to be able to carry the torch and to continue on and be a part of this legacy and the work that it started so long ago as a grassroots movement. I will mention there are some other chapters that claim to be the first. However, we have the charter framed in our office. Some also developed around 1949, 50, 51, so we'll still dispute, but it's all in good fun there. And then one thing I like to mention, just the legacy of our chapter here in the Arc of Philadelphia and the Arc of Pennsylvania, we're actually the chapters that in the 70s had sued the State of Pennsylvania to establish special education in this country. So, without the efforts of those families that said, 'You know, my children in school have every right to education, just as much as another student without a disability.' That went forward and found its way through a legal proceeding that ultimately was ruled on, that was the founding dispute that established special education for the United States. So it happened right here in Pennsylvania. And to be a part of that legacy, again, has been an amazing and it's a privilege to be able to carry on that work. Phill Rosen 00:05:34 Wow. I mean, you know, it's always great to hear, you know, a little bit more about disability history that I actually had never heard about. That's amazing! Yeah. So can you explain why voting accessibility is such a critical issue within the Disability Rights Movement? Shane Janick 00:05:48 Education in this country, so without the efforts of those families that said, you know, my children in school have every right to education, just as much as another student without a disability, that went forward and found its way through a legal proceeding that ultimately was ruled on, that was the founding dispute that established special education for the United States. So it happened right here in Pennsylvania. And to be a part of that legacy, again, has been an amazing and it's a privilege to be able to carry on that work. Phill Rosen 00:05:48 Wow. I mean, you know, it's always great to hear, you know, a little bit more about disability history that I actually had never heard about That's amazing. Yeah. So can you explain why voting accessibility is such a critical issue within the disability rights movement? Shane Janick 00:05:55 Yeah. So just first, really the foundation of a lot of the systems that populations with disabilities will access to support their level of independence are going to be just policy in nature. So we have a lot of these systems are run through our government. Just a few examples for home and community based services. That acronym that you'll hear HCBS, an entirely government funded system through our Medicaid line items, and ultimately voting is what's going to put our elected officials in place that will determine how these systems operate. So some other examples of why voting is so important through the Disability Rights Movement have been big. Have been monumental steps in past generations. So for example, the, the passage of 504 that ultimately led to the enactment of the ADA. The Olmstead Act decision, which determined that institutionalization cannot be a default for people. We have to explore all options of home and community based services as we shift it away from institutionalization. And other, other practices and policies like how our Social Security, how our Social Security operates. So we do know that a disproportionate amount of people with disabilities will utilize Social Security Income in their lifetime, and our elected officials get to determine exactly what procedures are in place for all of these systems. And one of the bottom lines as well is how each of these systems are funded is directly related to who we vote for every single, every single election cycle. Phill Rosen 00:07:36 Right, and you know, of course, one of the fundamental things about having the right to vote, of course, is, you know, putting your voice out there to make sure that your needs are being met by whoever's representing you, of course. So that's definitely a great part of what REV UP does, of course. Shane Janick 00:08:00 Absolutely, there are. And part of our job, too as advocates, is really educating who our elected officials are, once they get into office, about these systems that they may not be familiar with. So these are, these are publicly funded systems that can influence a person's day-to-day. I mean, our daily lives can be dependent on, on our home community based services, and so we have to go teach those elected officials, especially freshmen legislators, how these things work, how these things play out for our daily lives and the people and our loved ones that we take care of. Phill Rosen 00:08:36 Yeah, of course, of course. So what are some of the most significant barriers that people with disabilities face on that 1st Tuesday of November when they go to vote? You know, obviously, many places you know, have some physical barriers for many people with disabilities, of course. But is there anything that might be more subtle that people may not realize? Shane Janick 00:09:00 Yeah, and like you mentioned, all the same barriers that people may face on any given day when they're heading out to the grocery store or going to a doctor's visit will be similar to what somebody may face on election day. So we like to mention that all polling places are selected because they meet ADA standards, so they're accessible under the ADA. However, we have a saying that a lot of disability advocates will use that, The ADA is really the bare minimum of accessibility, and we like to push for advancing what full accessibility can, can really look like.' So for example, there may be a ramp at the front door of a polling place that can support somebody that uses a wheelchair and accessing their voting location. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that maybe the layout of, of the floor plan once inside can facilitate somebody who uses a wheelchair's, their turning radius, for example. So, we like to mention too, you can contact your your official ahead of time to find out exactly where your polling place will be, and to have an idea of what to expect at that location. For anybody that may need some accessibility features there. Phill Rosen 00:10:14 That's definitely very important. So can you discuss any like sort of specific legislation or initiatives that have been effective in improving voting accessibility? Shane Janick 00:10:26 Yeah, so maybe not legislation that was enacted, but a big shift we saw coming out of COVID was the popularity in the mail-in ballot, and that made voting accessibility far more widespread, I think, than we had seen in past election cycles. And so that was something that was in place, that maybe was underutilized, and now that the general public has found the convenience of it, the simplicity of it, it's grown in popularity. However, that's been something that communities with disabilities had been using for many years. So to see it gain traction, grow in awareness has been huge. There may have even been people with disabilities that had foregone voting in the past because we weren't even aware that our mail-in ballots were options to us. So that's been amazing to see for really every community, but in particular for communities with disabilities. Phill Rosen 00:11:19 Yeah, yeah. And are there any misconceptions about how mail-in voting works, like, you know, can one person deliver, I don't know multiple people's ballots? Shane Janick 00:11:32 Yeah, that is something that we're clearing up this election cycle there. So if you request a mail-in ballot, and you can opt to designate somebody else to drop it off for you if you're going to use the those drop-off stations for your mail in ballots. So your mail-in ballot has to be received at a certain time on election day, and if you put it in the mail the day before, there's a chance it may not make it. So a lot of people opt for these drop-off stations. If you cannot necessarily get to that drop-off station, you can designate somebody to drop your ballot off for you. However, that person cannot be many people's designee. So for example, if a few people with disabilities live with each other in a residential setting, they cannot have the same staff person bring all of their mail-in ballots at one time, so each person needs a separate designee to drop off their ballot if they're going to opt for that route to cast their vote. Phill Rosen 00:12:35 Man, that's, that's wild. Shane Janick 00:12:39 It's a barrier we don't agree with, and we'll be raising awareness about, and hopefully can come up with some solutions going forward, but for this election cycle, it's one thing that we want to note that we'll deal with for now, and hopefully we can change going forward, yes. Phill Rosen 00:12:52 Yeah. So are there any ways in which disability advocacy organizations and voting rights groups can collaborate together to address any sort of issues with accessibility? Shane Janick 00:13:06 For sure, and I think it comes down to each of those groups' missions. So people advocating for voting rights may not be as in tune with what accessibility looks like at the polling places, so maybe advocating for voting rights is a lot of registration, creating accessibility for other marginalized groups, but they would need disability advocacy groups to come and actually walk through what full accessibility, accessibility can look like for different communities with disabilities. So really bouncing those ideas back and forth to one another. Learning from one another is essential, and to hear about some of the specific things that we're talking about today, some voting right, voting rights groups may need disability advocates to come along and teach them where we can be stronger when it comes to voting accessibility. Phill Rosen 00:14:00 Okay, perfect. So what roles do technology play in making voting more accessible, and is there anything that kind of stands out recently in terms of innovations in that sphere? Shane Janick 00:14:15 Yeah, I think, well, Pennsylvania, specifically, all of our counties can can opt for the type of voting machines that they wish to have at their polling places, and we know that Philadelphia, they're opting to get as many new accessible voting machines as possible. The machines themselves come with a lot of accessibility features that are shared with some of our new, updated phones and other pieces of tech. So some of the voting machines, they'll have touch screens that can have screen readers for people who are blind. They will also have physical, like adaptive mouses so that they can control what's on the screen again, for people that may not be able to use touchscreens. Others will...so with the touch screen, they will actually print out your ballot for you, instead of somebody having to fill in the oval manually, so that can support people that have differences in their mobility to actually fill out that ballot if they prefer the touch screen. So they're really promoting full accessible, fully accessible machines. And we do know that Philadelphia County is opting in to have as many fully accessible voting machines as possible. One of the things that we also recommend too, is to learn about those machines before you get to the polling place. All of our polling workers are amazing individuals, but they may not be as in tune as well to those machines, so if you come understanding how they'll work, that will definitely benefit you as an individual casting your vote there. Phill Rosen 00:15:51 Right, that makes sense. So how can individuals with disabilities advocate to ensure that their voting rights are protected? Shane Janick 00:16:02 Probably, I mean, similar to any other you know civilian going to vote. So really, just to know your rights, what they are around voting as much as anybody else. So for example, if you're in line before the deadline to vote the time of day, you can remain in that line. So just because the time of day passes doesn't mean that people waiting in line do not get to cast their vote. So if you're in line, even after the deadline, the time of day to vote, you can remain in line to cast your ballot. So things like that, you can again, going back to those voting advocacy groups, those are the experts and really all things related to our voting rights, and to be in tune with with what that means. Some of the others too that will probably address so, for example, like other misconceptions about voting with a disability, we've had a chance to teach people that you can have somebody assist you to actually cast your ballot. Some people had never heard of that before, and again, those might be reasons why a person with a disability may have actually foregone voting in the past. If they needed somebody to actually support them in filling out their ballot, bringing it to the machine and casting their vote, they maybe had thought that that wasn't a possibility for them. In fact, you can have somebody assist you through that process. And again, knowing that means that if somebody challenges an individual on that to say, oh, no, two people cannot cast one vote at a time, you can reference your rights as a voter to say, I actually am allowed to have that assistance in filling out my ballot, and so being informed about what your rights are as a voter comes into play just as much as anybody else. Phill Rosen 00:17:52 Oh, great. Are there any policies related to disability services that are related to voting in any way and how so? Shane Janick 00:18:03 Yeah, well, just, I mean, all of them, like we kind of mentioned, and I think one thing that we really emphasize is the importance of our state elected officials, and that is because our home and community based services are entirely funded through Medicaid, and Medicaid is controlled on a state by state basis. So while our national elections gain a lot of attention, and we see a larger voter turnout for national elections when you see legislators at the state level, we want to really make sure that voters with disabilities have an understanding of how important those individuals really are. So our state elected officials are the people that will actually fund our Medicaid line items, will ultimately decide the amount of money that goes into the home and community based services system that will support a person with a disability on a daily basis. So we really try to emphasize not to overlook anything related to state elections and state officials, and why those elected seats are so important really comes down to those are the the officials that can influence our day-to-day lives. So the national election is incredibly important that holds things like Social Security Income are are established at the Federal level, but from a day to day standpoint, our state officials are extremely important. So do not overlook state elections and state elected officials on the ballot. Phill Rosen 00:19:38 Yeah, and you know, are any more local like, type elections important as well, things like, you know, mayoral elections, or like, city council elections? Shane Janick 00:19:49 Yes, all incredibly important. Of course, we do. We do, like to emphasize that, because the system that our populations utilize on a regular basis come from state funding, just to understand that we like to really put an emphasis on there. But no, like you mentioned, we had the mayoral election recently, and they're doing incredible work. We actually on that ballot, in particular, were able to establish the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, has officially turned into the Office for People with Disabilities. Previously, it was technically an executive order that kept that office in place, which, which meant that it would only stay in place as long as the mayor approved it. And now we've moved it into the city's Charter, which is like editing the Constitution of the city, which is incredible work, and it made it on the ballot and passed first time. So without everybody getting out to vote during that election, that office would not be a permanent piece in our city's Charter, and this is the first year that we can say that. So every, every level, is incredibly important. Like you mentioned, the federal level and the local level. With the mayoral election, we like to emphasize the state election just as much. I think a lot of times that gets overshadowed being, being not as popular when it comes to election day, but we thought we see it to be just as popular and if not even more. Phill Rosen 00:21:24 Yeah, of course, you know, as I, you know, as I learned growing up, you know, you gotta use your voice for everything that you can. So why not just vote on everything? But you know, I great. I love the emphasis for the state elections, of course, because you're right, it is so important for, especially people with disabilities, but for everyone. Okay, great. So you know, I know that this, this episode, is being released during National Disability Voting Right, Registration Week. Wow, that is a mouthful. Is there anything about that week that you want to like kind of comment on, you know, relating to, you know, voting rights, or, you know, anything else like the importance of it, or, you know, continuing to ensure that, you know, as many people are registered to vote as they as we can make sure? Shane Janick 00:22:27 Yeah, absolutely one of, one of our messages recently has been not just the importance of voting, but for our mission here, out of Philadelphia, what the importance is for all Philadelphia residents to vote, and specifically residents with disabilities, and what the power that we hold truly is so I like to to bring, bring us back. You know, every four years around around the national elections, we do generally hear that Philadelphia, I mean, Pennsylvania, is a swing state. Pennsylvania is extremely important when it comes to our national elections, and we generally come to find out that Philadelphia has the ability to determine how Pennsylvania turns out. And it just so happens that in Philadelphia, we actually have the highest disability prevalence of all major US cities in this country. So I say all that to mention that if you kind of follow, follow the path down to Philadelphia residents with disabilities, ultimately, this is the population that can determine the election at the national level. So we do like to really emphasize how important the disability voter block is in Philadelphia. We haven't heard that come up too frequently, but when we get the opportunity, we really want to put that out there, to galvanize the disability voter block, to really understand what the true power of this population is when it comes to our federal elections, and to not take that for granted. So they, we face more accessibility barriers to vote. If we can overcome them, we can ultimately determine the national election here for this country. Phill Rosen 00:24:19 Yeah, yeah. So, are there any like changes or advancements you hope to see in the future to ensure voting is fully accessible and inclusive for everyone who experiences disability? Shane Janick 00:24:34 For sure, I think any advancements will not come without the public awareness or without advocacy groups keeping up the pressure to keep advancing the Disability Rights Movement. So for example, if voices of people with disabilities go silent, chances are we will not see those advancements happening. It's simply because these initiatives are not prioritized by people without disabilities who do not have these shared lived experiences. And so it is up to us to keep pressing that level of awareness, keep bringing up why these things are so important, how it relates to civic engagement, which is ultimately our rights as individuals here in this nation. So I do see the advancements happening. We, like I mentioned, you know, Philadelphia opting for accessible voting machines and having those more widespread is incredible. That only happened because of voices asking for that. And so every example and every advancement that we can look to both generations past and some more recent only happened because of the voices of advocacy groups and people with disabilities. So if we want to see those changes, we still have to keep shouting from the rooftops and educating individuals along the way, and we're happy to support that endeavor. And, you know, really built into our mission here at the Arc. Phill Rosen 00:26:05 Yeah, perfect. So, you know, make sure you know who your elected officials are and contact them whenever, as well as doing things like voting and, you know, other things to make sure your voice is heard for sure. Shane Janick 00:26:18 Yeah, yeah, that civic engagement after the election is just as important as who we get in those seats. Phill Rosen 00:26:24 Yeah. Shane Janick 00:26:24 Like I mentioned, you know, people come into these roles with a variety of experiences. Chances are that they are not as in tune with the home and community based services that somebody with a disability utilizes on an everyday basis. So it's up to us to really emphasize the importance of it and what it means to individuals that utilize those disability services. Phill Rosen 00:26:47 All right. Well, Shane, is there anything else that you, you know, maybe wanted to mention surrounding voting rights and voting access? You know, any of the organizations that you work with or are part of? Shane Janick 00:27:03 REV UP's been amazing. They're a national initiative. REV UP stands for Register, Educate, Vote and Use your Power. So if you see any events happening around the city, feel free to get engaged with them. If you have loved ones that have disabilities themselves. You know, please get in touch with them and and help them feel supported in casting their ballot in any way that, any way that you can, and again, try to dispel some of the misconceptions around what people can and cannot do when it comes to election day. And there are wonderful groups like Disability Pride PA, the Disability Advocacy Network in Philadelphia is incredibly strong. Generally, we all know one another. You know, we're out of a lot of the same events. So you get in touch with one of us, you can open up your entire network to a lot of disability, a lot of disability advocacy organizations that are supporting this work. Phill Rosen 00:28:06 Yeah, perfect. So I think, you know, our conversation is kind of run its course. Is there anything that you want to plug or anything that you want to shout out before we go? Shane Janick 00:28:24 This year we have, our Disability Summit. Will be October 10, and we're actually partnering with a handful more organizations will be down at Lincoln Financial Field, bringing in a variety of sponsors, basically the entire Disability Advocacy Network I just referenced will be in the house. So if anybody is up for it and wants to come meet a lot of awesome people doing amazing work in this field, that'll be a great place to get to know some people and start building your network. Phill Rosen 00:28:56 Perfect. Well, that's it for today, folks. I want to again, thank Highmark Wholcare for sponsoring our podcast. Thank you so much. We would not be able to do this without you. And have a great day, folks! Thanks Shane! Shane Janick 00:29:15 Thank you. Phill Rosen Voice Over 00:29:16 Please visit our accessible website at www.disabilitypridepa.org. You can find us on social media @DisabilityPridePA, on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok.