From a comment I just posted over on Rum, Romanism and Rebellion:

Currently, people with disabilities are paid using a fuzzy formula that calculates their pay rate based on their functional ability to do the jobs assigned to them. My understanding is the hubbub is mostly centered on people with developmental disabilities who live in institutional settings or group homes and spend their days in sheltered workshops or "dayhab" centers. The items they produce in these settings are sometimes sold as a means to support the organizations providing these jobs for people with developmental disabilities.

The people with developmental disabilities who are the focus of this debate probably have never bought their own loaf of bread. Just the same, they deserve the same rights and basic human dignity as anyone else. The Arc's argument about the minimum wage applying to everyone helping people with developmental disabilities integrate into the larger community is spot-on. This is a group of people who are hidden from the public, often incorrectly assumed to be 'useless', 'unproductive', 'asexual', or worse.

Truth is, given the opportunity, many (if not most) people with developmental disabilities could and would lead very productive, happy and healthy lives. Part of the way to achieve that goal is to allow them access to the same resources as their peers without developmental disabilities.

Frankly, the fact that there's even a debate about this seems silly to me.

I guess you can take the boy out of the 'disability project' but you can't take the 'disability project' out of the boy...

Labels: accessibility, equality, human rights, minimum wage, people with disabilities

Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm not a big fan of Ted Downing. That said, I am grateful for his advocacy for election integrity. I received an e-mail today through the Sonora Progressives listserve that included testimony Ted gave before Mayor and Council last night about their rush to move the all-city elections next year to an all vote-by-mail system. Ted's assessment is absolutely correct, and I will reprint his testimony below. But I first want to highlight one point.

The stated reason for this rush to vote-by-mail is that the Justice Department has ruled that all but a handful of Tucson precints are ADA-compliant. The Americans with Disabilities Act provides for all public accommodations to meet certain minimum standards of physical accessibility. That is not to say that ADA compliance equals accessible; a building could be 100% compliant but still be virtually inaccessible for certain individuals. Switching to VBM is not the solution to this problem. Instead, the city, as Ted rightfully suggests, should select polling locations that already do comply with the ADA or at least provide some technical assistance to polling places to help them get up to spec.

Here is the full text of Ted's testimony. Please contact Mayor and Council and let them know that VBM is NOT the solution to lack of ADA compliance at polling places.

Statement by Ted Downing to the Tucson City Council in response to their proposed adoption of an All Vote-by-Mail Election for the 2007 City Election (includes Mayor and Council) .

The Resolution has not been subject to a public hearing.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor and fellow honorable city council members.

My name is Ted Downing, resident of Tucson, Arizona 85719. I am State Representative for LD28 who has focused on election systems. I chair the Arizona Democratic Party’s Election Integrity Committee – that focuses on protecting the integrity of the election systems statewide.
I oppose a decision to limit the 2007 Tucson city election to only vote-by-mail ballots even with the modification that 30-60 polling places will available to drop your mail in ballots (the precise Resolution was not ready at the time I prepared this statement).
The proposed resolution is against the will of the people as expressed in last month’s overwhelming rejection of almost the same proposal, Proposition 205. Proposition 205, in contrast to what was presented in study session, included a provision that people could drop off their ballots and vote at a limited number of sites.
Proposition 205 was overwhelmingly rejected by Arizona and Tucson voters for the same reason as the proposed City resolution should be rejected. It takes away a right – the right to vote in one’s precinct. Voting by mail is already a Tucsonan’s right. It limits the expression of the voter’s will – if a voter mistakenly votes for too many candidates, our polling equipment rejects your ballot and gives you another chance. An all vote by mail doesn’t offer the voter this choice. It removes critical checks that we currently lose to detect election system malfunctions and manipulations (for example, by comparing vote-by-mail results to ballots cast at the same precinct and exit polls). It slows ballot counts and transfers the cost from the City to the County Recorder’s office – who must verify a significant increase in signatures.
An all mail-in-ballots system increases the chances for fraud and corruption. It exposes vulnerable electors to privacy violations – including those of well meaning domestic advisors. Political operatives can and have picked up ballots from elderly, disabled and naïve voters and either provided incentives for their vote or “misplaced” the ballots. It reduces the certainty your vote is counted. This concern is evident from the tendency of voters in a heavily VBM system to deposit their ballots at the polls rather than mailing them in at the last election.
Whether or not it increases turnout is questionable. Oregon witnessed a 10% increase in 2000, but 16 other states saw higher increase in turnout using our current system. The jury is out on whether or not the proposed City system will actually save money.
And it may lead to people making premature decisions on misleading information – as recently happened in a Paradise Valley city election when people were lamenting the fact they could not get their ballots back after casting them for a Democrat who campaigned with a picture showing him, in uniform, shaking hands with Ronald Reagan.
This is not the time to pass this resolution – listen to the people. Without a public hearing on this topic, voices are not being heard. The people resoundingly reject this idea just a few weeks ago.
I share your concerns about compliance with the Americans with Disability Act in our voting system. On that score, it would show political sound judgment for the Tucson City Council should encourage compliance with ADA through its selection of polling places, not pit the rights of those wishing to vote in polling place against those with disabilities.

Ted Downing
Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Labels: accessibility, ADA, election integrity, vote by mail