Editor’s Note: REV UP was founded in 2016 by grassroots activists in Texas to build the power of the disability vote—and over the past decade, it has grown into a powerful national movement. REV UP stands for “Register, Educate, Vote, Use your Power!” As we celebrate 10 years of impact, we are spotlighting leaders from across the country whose work reflects the strength and influence of the REV UP movement.
In 2016, Rainey Dock Matthews encountered discrimination at the polls in Texas, but that experience launched her into advocating for an accessible democracy. She has now helped transform voting systems in two different states, formerly participating in REV UP Texas and now helping start REV UP Hawai’i.
When Dock Matthews tried to vote in Fort Worth, Texas, on Super Tuesday in 2016, a process that she said should have taken ten minutes took over an hour. The voting location, which was inside a school, was not set up to meet her access needs as a voter with cognitive and hearing disabilities.
“Even though I attempted to resolve the situation there, even the captain there telling me that I needed to set up the machine, that I needed to know how to operate it, I was getting no assistance,” she said.
Ultimately, Dock Matthews called her daughter, who was in law school in Hawai’i at the time, for support. Her daughter contacted the local election administration who sent a voting official to the polling place to resolve the barriers, which included problems with the voting machine and voting booth. The polling place was eventually moved to another area within the school.
Because of the accessibility barriers she faced at the polls, Dock Matthews became motivated to fight for change. She spread awareness of the discrimination she faced until she saw improvements. As she started advocating, she became connected with REV UP Texas organizers.
“I was very discouraged, disheartened. From there, for the next year and a half, I started to reach nationally, statewide, citywide, regionwide, to present my situation to them, to bring attention to it,” Dock Matthews said.
Dock Matthews became very involved with disability advocacy in Fort Worth and Tarrant County, serving as Chair of the Fort Worth Mayor’s Committee on Persons with Disabilities. She credits her work with REV UP as a reason she joined the committee and a motivating factor for her advocacy for accessible voting. Her advocacy helped improve access to curbside voting and make voting information more accessible.
“There was a complete overhaul of the special needs section of the website of the Tarrant County Election Administration because of what I had learned through REV UP. I was able to use some of that knowledge and education in steering the administration into what needed to change,” she said.
For Dock Matthews, a highlight of working with REV UP Texas was collaborating with a group of passionate advocates, including Bob Kafka, one of the REV UP movement’s founders. She has greatly appreciated the opportunity to learn and collaborate with REV UP.
“I live by this mantra, surround yourself with people that know more than you,” she said.
Now surrounded by disability voting rights experts, Dock Matthews channeled the support and resources into advocacy with the county and city. Her advocacy for people with disabilities brought her all the way to Washington, D.C., where she attended an event for the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a representative of Fort Worth.
“As a Black woman with disabilities, to be able to do this and be the voice and the face of Fort Worth with pride, with exuberance, and to be able to meet some of the elected officials that were there, I feel is a great accomplishment because nobody from the Fort Worth Mayor’s Committee on Persons with Disabilities had ever had that opportunity or been granted permission to do anything like that,” she said.
Now that she lives in Maui, Hawai’i, Dock Matthews has been involved with laying the groundwork for the creation of REV UP Hawai’i, which has been a goal of hers since her move. She has helped lead initial REV UP Hawai’i planning meetings and looks forward to continuing to organize the new coalition.
“With REV UP, I’m just excited that it’s going to be able to permeate up the chain through the loudness of the fight for just plain human rights to where people will realize and recognize, I, through my vote, have an opportunity to vote for people that will impact the changes that I need to have here, that personally impact me,” she said.
Dock Matthews explained that voters in Hawai’i encounter unique voting barriers because of the state’s geography and history. Some of these barriers are related to Hawai’i’s island infrastructure.
“We have to fight over here for voting stations on each island rather than just on one island, which they call the main island. Because to get from island to island, you have to take an airplane. There’s no bus to drive across the water. So those kinds of things are different barriers,” she said.
“There are so many struggles here anyway with regard to the colonization of Hawai’i and the Hawaiian people just simply being able to get their voices heard,” she said.
Dock Matthews offered strong advice for other advocates working to expand and empower the disability vote.
“Don’t quit. If you need support, call your local, regional, state REV UP leader, or reach out to headquarters. Don’t be afraid to ask the questions and just keep going.”
Dock Matthews made a real difference in voting accessibility in Texas, and now she has brought her same passion and zeal for an accessible democracy to Hawai’i. REV UP Hawai’i may just be getting started, but Dock Matthews’ passion is here to stay.