For Immediate Release: November 4, 2020
Contact: Keri Gray, kgray@aapd.com
WASHINGTON, DC – First and foremost, thank you for showing up and for using your power through your vote. We recognize the difficulty and anxiety that comes with uncertainty and with having to wait longer than usual for results that impact our lives so deeply. The wait is necessary for a fair and accurate count.
Millions of people have struggled for centuries to try to improve the experiment of American democracy, leading to major breakthroughs in justice, representation, and improvements in government. We are the inheritors of their efforts. And we do not want to miss our chance to have our voices heard, and to do our part to make sure that those gains are protected. Our democracy works when the votes of all eligible voters get counted. Across the 50 states and DC, election officials are tallying and checking votes to make sure that the results they announce are accurate. The voters will decide the results of the 2020 elections, and we will wait for every vote to be counted.
In case you voted with a provisional ballot (also called a challenge or affidavit ballot), you may need to ask local election officials exactly what you need to do to make sure that your ballot gets counted and follow any instructions to “cure” your ballot, which means fix any uncertainty about your ballot. For example, if you did not have a required ID with you at the polls, you may need to provide identification to your election officials after casting your provisional ballot. In some states, you may be able to check online if your provisional ballot counted. Learn more about details about provisional ballots here.
In this election, more voters with and without disabilities voted by mail due to concerns related to COVID-19. Mail-in ballots may be the last votes to get counted in many states. Accurate results are more important than fast results, so we must make every effort to ensure that the votes cast by every eligible voter get counted!
Stay safe, stay informed, and take care of yourself!
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AAPD is a convener, connecter, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities. As one of the leading national cross-disability civil rights organizations, AAPD advocates for the full recognition of rights for the over 60 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD’s programs and initiatives have been effective in mobilizing the disability community through communications advocacy; cultivating and training new and emerging leaders with disabilities through leadership development programs; increasing the political participation of Americans with disabilities and elevating the power of the disability vote through the REV UP (Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!) Campaign; and advancing disability inclusion in the workplace through the Disability Equality Index (DEI) — the nation’s leading corporate benchmarking tool for disability equality and inclusion. To learn more about AAPD, visit www.aapd.com.
AAPD’s REV UP Campaign aims to foster civic engagement and protect the voting rights of Americans with disabilities. AAPD works with state and national coalitions on effective, non-partisan campaigns to address the concerns of people with disabilities, eliminate barriers to voting, promote accessibility of voting; educate communities about issues and candidates; promote turnout of voters with disabilities across the country; and engage candidates and the media on disability issues. Learn more about REV UP at www.aapd.com/revup.