2,000 Georgians, International and National Disability Advocates Rally at State Capitol Thursday
2,000 Georgians, International and National Disability Advocates Rally at State Capitol Thursday
Voter Drive, Accessible Ballot Demonstrations Prove: “My Vote is for Real”
ATLANTA, GA (Feb. 20, 2008) – Thousands of Georgians push to maximize the voting strength of persons with disabilities at the 10th Annual Disability Day at the Capitol, February 21, on the Washington Street side steps. The program features Ecuador’s Ambassador to the United States, an internationally-renowned, award-winning disability rights advocate, offering the keynote address at the 11-12pm “My Vote is for Real” rally. Disability Day, sponsored by the Governor’s Council On Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), has become the largest public gathering of record held each year during the official legislative session. Legislators in attendance and planning to make remarks include:
• Senator Bill Jackson (R), District #24
• Senator Dan Moody (R), District #56
• Representative Jimmy Pruett (R) District #144
• Representative Roger Bruce (D), District #64
In his keynote, His Excellency Ambassador Luis Gallegos will support the urgency and importance for elected officials to be responsive to the needs of people with disabilities at local, state, national and international levels. Ambassador Gallegos is internationally recognized for his lifelong work on behalf of persons with disabilities and holds numerous awards including the "Justice for All Disabilities Rights Award" from the American Association of People with Disabilities; and from the Christian Blind Mission, "2007 Vision Award" for his exemplary service to blind persons and others with disabilities around the world. He is currently Chairman of the Global UN Partnership for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies and President of the International Rehabilitation Foundation.
Georgia is one of only 14 states with a Disability Vote! Project. The initiative seeks to expand the involvement of people with disabilities, across all levels of the election process. Jim Dickson, VP of government affairs for the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), leads the national Disability Vote! Project and will offer the closing address at Thursday’s rally. Listed among his accomplishments, Dickson became the first blind person to sail a boat alone from Rhode Island to Bermuda. He has organized grassroots, multi-issue groups nationwide and his efforts aided in the passage of the Help America Vote ACT (HAVA).
The Voter Registration drive coordinated by People First of Georgia, an organization made up of people with disabilities, and the Fulton County Board of Election representatives will offer:
• Demonstrations with voting machines equipped for persons with hearing and visual impairments
• Packets available containing: absentee ballot, voter registration form, voter’s guide, photo ID requirement information
• Sign up for election alerts on candidates positions concerning disabilities issues
Independent film star Darius Weems will lead the Rally’s closing chant. Weems is featured in the documentary Darius Goes West, a story about the 18-year-old Athens native who takes his wheelchair and eleven of his college-age friends on a 7,000 mile cross-country road trip adventure to test wheelchair accessibility across the country. Weems has been profiled on The Today Show, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and in the LA Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Disability Day at The Capitol has grown ten fold in a decade to over 2,000 today,” GCDD Chair Tom Seegmueller said. “With this Rally’s show of positive support, we seek to keep our issues at the forefront of public consciousness because disability affects one in every five Georgians.”
The day begins with a 9:30 a.m. breakfast at the Freight Depot where advocates from across Georgia will convene to network and prepare for the 11 a.m. Rally on the Capitol steps. A 12:30 p.m. lunch at the Freight Depot concludes the day’s activities.
Among GCDD’s list of public policy priorities are the Unlock the Waiting Lists! Campaign which calls for funding of community based services for nearly 7,000 persons on waiting lists for vital supports and Money Follows the Person (MFP) which seeks to allow people to leave state and private institutions and nursing homes to move into the community with the necessary services.
A Developmental Disability is a severe, chronic mental and/or physical disability that occurs before age 22 and is expected to last a lifetime. It limits a person in three or more of the following life activities: self-care, language, learning, mobility, self-direction, independent living and economic self-sufficiency.
GCDD is a federally-funded state agency charged with creating systems for change for people with developmental disabilities and their families, with a goal to increase independence, inclusion, integration, self-determination and productivity through activities such as public policy research and analysis, project demonstrations, advocacy and public information. Visit www.gcdd.org for more information.
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