October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month!
As we continue our celebration, I ask you to remember, Justin Dart, Jr., one of the great civil rights leaders of the disability community. Through words and actions, Justin and his wife Yoshiko promoted the vision of the Americans with Disabilities Act: equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency. I would like to remind you of two of the most famous quotes shared by Justin, “Vote as if your life depends on it, because it does." He also said, "If you don't vote, you don't count."
Of course, you may vote in-person on Election Day, November 6th. Also, based on convenience, many Americans are choosing to vote early, when they have the option to do so. Additional information is provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures, on many voting topics including early voting, absentee voting or mail voting.
http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx
States offer three ways for voters to cast a ballot before Election Day:
1. Early Voting: In 32 states and the District of Columbia, any qualified voter may cast a ballot in person during a designated period prior to Election Day. No excuse or justification is required.
2. Absentee Voting: All states will mail an absentee ballot to certain voters. The voter may return the ballot by mail or in person. In 21 states, an excuse is required, while 27 states and the District of Columbia permit any qualified voter to vote absentee without offering an excuse. Some states offer a permanent absentee ballot list: once a voter asks to be added to the list, s/he will automatically receive an absentee ballot for all future elections.
3. Mail Voting: A ballot is automatically mailed to every eligible voter (no request or application is necessary), and the state does not use traditional poll sites that offer in-person voting on Election Day. Two states use mail voting.
It doesn’t matter who you are intending to vote for, but please vote. We all want to count! As Justin reminds us, our life does depend on this action. Please vote!
Lead on!
Joyce