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September's Feature: National Preparedness Month |
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Profiles in Public Health Law |
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Interview
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and Todd Talbert, Associate Director of Planning and Development, Division of
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Legal Tools |
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From the Public
Health Law Program (PHLP), Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support (OSTLTS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) |
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Public Health Law News. September 20, 2012
Leading Disability Rights Group Says People with Disabilities Could Decide Election
For
Immediate Release
Leading Disability Rights Group Says People with Disabilities Could
Decide Election
WASHINGTON – The
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) reported today on its multi-year,
nationwide effort to increase the number of people with disabilities who vote
on Election Day.
NDRN’s member
agencies have been registering voters, educating people with disabilities about
their voting rights, and working with election officials to improve the
accessibility of polling places and equipment.
“It is our
goal to ensure that every individual with a disability who can vote, is
registered, knows their rights, and is able to cast a private and independent
vote when they go to their polling place,” said Curt Decker, executive director
of NDRN.
According to
a recent study conducted at Rutgers University, 14.7 million Americans with a
disability voted in the 2008 election, up from 10.9 million in 2000. It
is estimated there are approximately 35 million eligible voters with
disabilities.
“People with
disabilities and their families make up a huge block of voters,” said Decker.
“Candidates should not underestimate the intense interest people with
disabilities have in the outcome of this election.
“The economy,
the government’s budget crisis, and looming cuts to programs critical to people
with disabilities like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, could translate
into record turnout.”
“Since HAVA was enacted, we have seen dramatic increases in the number of voters with disabilities,” said Decker. “We expect this work will lead to an even greater impact in 2012.”
The following are some of the activities in which the network is engaged:
- · Surveying polling places to ensure accessible facilities are in place and filing complaints with state election boards when violations are identified.
- · Producing voting rights videos and Public Service Announcements.
- · Hosting voter forums for people with disabilities to discuss the election and hear from election officials.
- · Conducting voter education trainings during which individuals with disabilities are registered to vote and can test voting machines
- · Launching election hotlines that voters can use to report problems and seek assistance.
- · Distributing flyers about state voter identification laws.
- · Visiting facilities such as group homes, nursing homes, institutions, and schools to register and educate voters.
- · Partnering with other organizations to conduct polling place accessibility checks and distribute information about voter rights.
- · Creating downloadable polling place checklist for voters to bring with them to the polls. The checklist allows voters to determine whether barriers exist at their polling place and how to report them.
- · Providing information on accessibility to county election commissioners
# # #
The
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership
organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A)
Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with
disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the largest provider of legally
based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.
LLIS Dispatch Updates. September 20, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Dynamic Partnerships. Webinar/Conference Call on Wednesday, September 26, 1:00 – 2:00 pm EST
Strategic
Foresight Initiative (SFI) Community Members;
The Strategic Foresight Initiative (SFI) team
is scheduling a Webinar/Conference Call on Wednesday, September 26,
1:00 – 2:00 pm EST to discuss and explore the strategic needs classified as
“Dynamic Partnerships”:
1.
Empower
individuals, neighborhoods and communities to play a greater role throughout
all phases of disasters.
2.
Proactively
engage business in all emergency management phases and solicit its contribution
to policy development in light of the critical nature of private sector
capabilities.
3. Intensify disaster response collaboration and
planning with Canada and Mexico, recognizing scope for both national and local
actions.
4. Foster increased collaboration to ensure
appropriate use of the military to provide specialized capabilities or to
augment capacity in complex, overwhelming disaster incidents.
Jacqueline Yannacci, Community Resilience
Program Manager at the American Red Cross National Headquarters will present on
the Community Resilience Strategy, highlighting the organization’s work with
developing dynamic partnerships.
Daniel Hahn, MA, CEM, FPEM, Santa Rosa County
Plans Chief will introduce the Escarosa Business Continuity Initiative
that is focusing on developing active partnerships within the Escambia and
Santa Rosa County business community in Florida for enhancing disaster
resiliency and continuity.
As part of the conference call, the SFI team
will provide a brief overview of the strategic needs highlighted above and
invite participants to share anecdotal information about how their
programs/initiatives are meeting these needs, along with any challenges and
solutions identified when implementing actions to meet the strategic needs.
To access the
Webinar, please follow the following guidelines:
·
Please test the
software on your computer before the training date at: https://demo.connectsolutions.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm.
You do not need any special adobe connect software, but
you will need to make sure you have flash and ActiveX installed on your
computer. You should be prompted to install ActiveX as soon as you pull up the
adobe connect site. The installation process should only take a few minutes.
·
When you are on the
Adobe Connect homepage, please select "Sign in as Guest"
and enter your first and last name.
·
We will be using a
conference call to communicate with participants during the webinar.
Please
call: 1-800-320-4330
and enter PIN 857311. Please note that your phone must be muted
during the webinar.
·
You can post questions
to the presenters using the chat functionality of Adobe Connect. We will
moderate the Q&A portion of the webinar by calling on particular
participants to elaborate on their questions/ideas posted under the chat
window.
For
more information on the SFI, you can contact the SFI Project Team via email at FEMA-OPPA-SFI.
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