disability rights

07.17.17

National Disability Voter Registration Week, July 17-21

By Katrice Williams

Every year thousands of Ohioans with disabilities are turned away from polling precincts or dismissed at voter registration drives. Often, this is a result of stereotypes regarding their competence or intelligence.

Anyone who meets the eligibility requirements for voting can cast a ballot.

09.21.16

ACLU Announces New Webpage for Deaf Voters

By Katrice Williams

Imagine showing up to your local polling place and you are not sure of the rules around how to cast your ballot. You ask for assistance from poll workers, but none of them can speak your language or communicate easily with you.

02.26.16

Disability Rights Ohio calls for Enforcement of Ohio Department of Education Rule on Restraint and Seclusion

By Shakyra Diaz

Last year thousands of Ohio students were restrained or secluded in school, placing them at risk of injury and trauma. This happened despite a rule that was put in place specifically to stop this practice.

In 2013, upon the urging of Disability Rights Ohio, the ACLU of Ohio, and other advocates, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) established a rule limiting the use of restraint and seclusion in Ohio schools to situations where there is an imminent risk of physical harm.

01.04.16

Ohio is Often the Spotlight for Elections

By Lisa Wurm

Diana Mairose is a voting rights advocate who works as an Advocacy Support Advisor for Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services.

Ohio is often the spotlight on Election Day, and this year was no different. Hamilton County, in particular, gained much statewide attention—not because of hotly contested local races or ballot issues, but because of a glitch in new technology at the polls.

11.20.15

Ohio Must Stop Executions of People with Severe Mental Illness

By Chris Geggie

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio supports a bipartisan bill which seeks to spare those with severe and persistent mental illness from facing execution in the state of Ohio. This bill came out of the Ohio Supreme Court Task Force, which recommends an end to this barbaric practice.

11.16.15

The Ohio Constitution Shouldn’t Define Anyone as an “Idiot” or “Insane Person”

By Chris Geggie

“No idiot, or insane person, shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector.” That is how Article V, Section 6 of the Ohio State Constitution currently reads, and it is the subject of the most recent meeting of the Bill of Rights and Voting Committee of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission.

10.09.15

Ohio Should Not Use People with Down Syndrome in Political Fight About Abortion

By Adrienne Gavula

The ACLU supports a woman’s access to the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion, by working to ensure that every woman can make the best decision for herself and her family without undue political interference. We also strive for an America free of discrimination against people with disabilities.

09.30.15

Last Chance to Register for November’s Election

By Shakyra Diaz

Ohio’s voter registration deadline is Monday, October 5—only a few days away. For those not registered to vote that’s a short amount of time to download, complete, and mail the registration application or go to a board of elections or BMV to register.

09.23.15

What Does It Mean to Vote Free of Barriers?

By Adrienne Gavula

All polling locations must be physically accessible for people with disabilities, and each polling location must have one accessible voting machine. But does accessibility only mean technology and brick and mortar?

Time to Change Attitudes

When we think about barriers for voters with disabilities, we often think of physical barriers, but there are people barriers, too.

09.07.15

Seclusion and Restraint Guidelines Now Apply to Ohio’s Charter Schools

By Shakyra Diaz

This school year, all of Ohio’s public school children now have the same rights and protections when it comes to the use of seclusion and restraints. It’s been three years in the making.

Investigative Reporting

In August 2012, The Columbus Dispatch and StateImpact Ohio, a collaborative of Ohio NPR stations WCPN, WKSU, and WOSU, launched, “Locked Away,” an investigation into restraint and seclusion practices in Ohio schools.

08.12.15

Karla M. Lortz: Advocating for Online Voter Registration in Ohio

By Lisa Wurm

Karla M. Lortz has a voice so pleasant you’d swear you smell warm apple pies on her window sill as she speaks. However, that voice also belongs to a retired director of the Governor’s Council on People with Disabilities and a leading advocate behind legislation, including the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the 2002 Help America Vote Act.

08.05.15

Making Government Work: 25 Years of the ADA

By Steve David

With the presidential campaign already underway and the Buckeye State being a favorite stop for candidates, you can expect to hear a lot said about limiting government. At the ACLU, we get that. For more than 90 years we have been working to keep the government out of people’s speech, cell phones, and personal medical decisions.

06.29.15

Online Voter Registration on its Way to Reality!

By Lisa Wurm

The ACLU of Ohio supports online voter registration, especially for the many Ohioans with disabilities, limited incomes, inflexible work or family schedules, or lack of transportation means.

Strong Support Paying Off

Ohio Senate Bill 63 will establish a secure, online voter registration system for the state and was just passed last week by the state Senate.

06.10.15

How One Pastor Moves Voter Registration Mountains

By Lisa Wurm

Darryl Fairchild, pastor of Bellbrook United Methodist Church, stands tall among advocates for online voter registration in Ohio, despite using a wheelchair since a 1992 bicycle accident.

Advocate for Voter Rights

Fairchild served as the community organizer for Vote Dayton, which later became Lift Greater Dayton, a non-partisan organization of churches, synagogues, mosques, schools, community centers, and unions working for justice and a better city.

04.27.15

Voter Registration: Ohio Needs to Join the 21st Century

By Lisa Wurm

This is the second article in the “Online for All” series.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 finds that “discriminations against individuals with disabilities” persist in critical areas, such as voting.  It stipulates that all state and local governments ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to government programs and services, as well as requires equally effective communications to these individuals.

09.30.14

Voting Rights for Ohioans with Disabilities

By Adrienne Gavula

Imagine visiting your polling place on Election Day and discovering there is no parking, the sidewalk is blocked, and the door is locked. Yet, despite all this, you manage to get into the building only to find out the poll workers do not speak your language and the voting machine is out of reach.

08.07.14

The Challenge of Voting

By Steve David

Voting can be hard.  The merits of candidates, sides of issues, and conflicting messages force us to make difficult decisions at the voting booth.  We often have hard conversations with family, friends, and colleagues that examine our beliefs and challenge our thinking. 

07.15.14

Beyond Olmstead: How Ohio Segregates People with Disabilities

By Shakyra Diaz

It is not every day that someone has the opportunity to meet a well-respected folk artist, let alone one who successfully freed herself and others from a life sentence in psychiatric institutions. I had the opportunity to meet Lois Curtis at the conference “Celebrating Inclusion: 15 years of the Olmstead Decision” hosted by Services for Independent Living, Inc.