RCIL — Resource Center for Independent Living
Celebrating 25 Years of Promoting Disability Rights

Tuesday, March 09, 2010
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Voter Registration

RCIL takes great pride in helping to educate people -- with and without disabilities -- about the importance of participating in our government. Public policy impacts us all, and experience tells us that people who vote get listened to by our political leaders when it comes to creating policy and taking action on legislation.

According to the Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities,

  • There are over 35 million voting-age persons with disabilities in this country.
  • 14 million voting-age people with disabilities are not registered to vote.
  • People with disabilities register to vote at a rate that is 16 percentage points less than the rest of the population.
  • 75 percent of people with disabilities report they have never been asked to register to vote by a service provider. (Source: 1998 N.O.D./Louis Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities)
  • In the 1996 Presidential election, 30% of people with disabilities of voting age voted; 50% of the voting-age population at large voted.

You can learn more about registering to vote at any of RCIL's locations, or you can go to the NYS Elections "Voting in NY" web site, which contains a variety of easy ways to register to vote, including a downloadable registration form, an online request form, and a toll-free request number (1-800-FOR-VOTE -- that's 1-800-367-8683).

To be eligible to vote in the 2004 elections, you must (as a general guideline) have registered by October 10 (details and exceptions to this can be found at the NYS Elections web site).

You can learn more about the positions and voting records of individual candidates at the League of Women Voters web site.

Please contact RCIL for more information on voter registration.

The importance of accessible voting sites

RCIL strives to raise public awareness and works closely with public officials to make all voting sites accessible to people with disabilities. If you know of a voting site that is not accessible, please contact RCIL and let us know.

News

    We are currently hiring staff with PCA, HHA and CNA certifications. Please follow the careers link above for more information.
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Links

Utica Office

( Find it on the map )
409 Columbia St.
P.O. Box 210
Utica, NY 13503-0210
Voice (315) 797-4642
TDD (315) 797-5837
Fax (315) 797-4747

The Dorothy Smith Center
for Advocacy at RCIL

( Find it on the map )
1607 Genesee Street
Utica, NY 13501
Voice (315) 797-4642

Amsterdam Office

( Find it on the map )
347 West Main Street
Amsterdam, NY 12010
Voice (518) 842-3561
TDD (518) 842-3593
Fax (518) 842-0905

LDA North Country

( Find it on the map )
Suite 102
210 Court Street
Watertown, NY 13601
Voice (315) 785-9440

Herkimer Office

( Find it on the map )
Steuben Center
401 E. German St.
Herkimer, NY 13350
Voice (315) 866-7245
TDD (315) 866-7246
Fax (315) 866-7280