People with disabilities are a formidable voting bloc.

Post submitted by Brian McBride, former HRC Digital Strategist

It’s the start of National Disability Voter Registration Week. In both presidential and midterm elections, candidates running for office often discuss issues impacting marginalized communities -- including LGBTQ people, women, Latinx and African-American people -- but often voters with disabilities get left out of this broader conversation.

However, people with disabilities are a formidable voting bloc.

TODAY starts National Disability Voter Registration Week (July 15 - 19)! We are on a mission to ensure every Disabled American has access in the upcoming elections. Spread the word, get registered, & #REVUP https://t.co/Y6oEdw1B3X #DisabilityVote pic.twitter.com/LEwCz7dgFn
— AAPD (@AAPD) July 15, 2019

In fact, more than 14 million people with disabilities — spanning all disability types and demographic categories including gender, race/ethnicity, age and religion — voted in November 2018. According to TIME, that turnout surpassed the 11.7 million Latinx voters and came close to the 15.2 million Black people who cast ballots last year.

Not many studies have specifically tracked the voting power of LGBTQ people with disablities, but a report from the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that prevalence of disability was higher among lesbian, gay and bisexual adults compared to their straight counterparts. Unfortunately, data surrounding the experiences of transgender and non-binary people living with disabilities was not captured in this study.

People with disabilities are unfairly underserved in the political debate. This is why HRC supports the “For the People Act” (H.R. 1) and the Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4) that would eliminate barriers to voting for everyone, including people with disabilities.

Now more than ever, we need to harness the power of ALL people and get them to the polls.

Voting is the single most important action you can take to hold our leaders accountable. But you can’t vote if you aren’t registered. Take action and head over to hrc.org/vote to register and check your voter status TODAY.