Disability Rights California

Mission Statement: Disability Rights California defends, advances, and strengthens the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

UPDATE: The DRC intake line is available Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday from 9:00AM – 3:00PM. Our intake line is closed on Wednesdays.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

Starting tomorrow (October 24), some vote centers will be open for in-person voting and other voting services in counties running their elections under the California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA). They will be open every day from October 24 through Election Day (November 3).

Find the list of VCA counties here: https://t.co/vbpc4N0JGq

If you are in a VCA county and want to know the hours of operation of these vote centers, check the materials your county elections office mailed to you, your county’s elections website, or https://t.co/nXOr2pHIYU.

If you have questions or are having difficulty voting because of a disability, DRC’s voting hotline is open year-round on weekdays during business hours (9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) (and longer hours on Election Day). Call us at [phone].

We will continue to share voting resources on DRC social media as Election Day gets closer!

#DisabilityRightsCA #VoteCenter #ElectionDay #MidtermElection #VotingResource
.
.
Image Description: Text: Some vote centers are open starting Saturday, May 23! Blue/green DRC logo below. Bottom, a green filtered photo taken outside of a voting center. There is a sandwich board sign with an arrow pointing to the nearby building and text: Vote Center Voting. Near the building is an American flag. Background includes a large ballot drop-off box and a person nearby dropping off.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

The California Disability Leadership Alliance has released the State of the State: California Disability Policy in 2026 report. Disability employment is one of 14 categories of California policy we explore in this report along with health care, education, housing, and more. This report is a tool for organizing the many policy reforms disabled Californians need and identifies issue areas where lawmakers, state agency leaders, and advocates can collaborate on disability-specific polices.

Learn more and read the full report at the link: https://t.co/0mUxuvZZ60

The California state government has the chance to lead by example by becoming a significant employer of people with disabilities. Instead, from 2017-2023 there was a 40% decrease in the number of state employees with disabilities. We need to do better and WE CAN do better, the disability community demands it.

Although the issues are broad, our approach is simple: listen to disabled Californians when developing policies that affect them and center their lived experience in designing solutions. Through direct engagement with disabled people, in leadership and in communities throughout the state, we can build a disability-inclusive California.

#DisabilityRightsCA #DisabilityEmployment #StateOfTheState #MidtermElection #CaliforniaGovernor @CalVoices
@CFILC_1982
@ChoiceinAging
@TheCoelhoCenter
@DREDF
@NFB_voice
@NorCalDeafSvcs

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

Midterm Elections are NOT mid! Elections are a critical time for voters to make decisions about laws, policies, and elected leaders which will impact the lives of everyone around us.

Join Disability Vote California for information about the upcoming General Election on November 3.

Learn more and register at the link: https://t.co/ut9xsu6W4l

In the webinar we will cover:

- Accessible voting options
- The importance of voting in the midterm elections
- What's on the ballot? Races and statewide propositions
- How to get engaged in voting advocacy

Voters with disabilities have the chance to exercise their voting rights and enact change for our communities. Get informed and make your vote count by this Election Day (November 3)!

#DisabilityVoteCalifornia #CFILC #SCDD #DisabilityRightsCA #MidtermElection #ElectionDay
.
.
Image Description: Title Text: Disability Vote California: November 2026 Midterm Election Education Webinar. Circled Text: RSVP: https://t.co/ut9xsu6W4l. Bottom Text: Date: October 27, 2026 Time: 2:00PM. Icons below of several people with varying disabilities grouped together. Top illustration of a clipboard with text: Vote. Logos for CFILC, California SCDD, and DRC.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

Video Transcript: [DORA] So Prop 39 adds new barriers at registration, at the polling place and on the mail ballot itself, while also, you know, creating a completely unnecessary privacy and identity theft risk. And all of this gets layered on top of safeguards that California already uses to verify voters. And when when you register to vote in the state, California checks identifying information against DMV and Social Security records, okay? Yeah. When you vote in person, you are checked against the voter rolls. You have to state your name, state your address, right? They check you against the voter rolls. When you vote by mail, your signature is verified in California, gives voters a chance to cure, a signature problem. And lying in any of these, circumstances is a crime. Okay, so Prop 39 doesn’t fill a security gap. It piles a new paperwork test on top of the safeguards that we’ve already got. For voters with disabilities the burdens especially serious. California research, found that 22% of voting age citizens with disabilities lacked a current driver’s license, okay? Compared with 8% of people without disabilities, okay? And other proponents of this measure told that, well, we’re going to give you a free ID card, but a free ID card is not really free if you still need transportation and and child care because these offices aren’t open on the weekends, right? They’re- you gotta do it during the week. Time off of work. Documents, appointments or help correcting records. And that’s not an infrequent problem, right? So that’s why this this lands like a modern poll tax. The cost isn’t just the card, it’s it’s the cost. It’s, you know, it’s everything that you have to do to get through this, this barrier.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

This midterm election, voters will decide to vote "Yes" or "No" on Prop 39. On this episode of The Game Plan, DRC Associate Executive Director Eric Harris is joined by Dora Rose, the Deputy Director for the League of Women Voters of California, where they discussed the barriers California's Prop 39 may create for voters with disabilities. @emony21 @cavotes

Learn more and check out the full episode with Dora Rose at the link: https://t.co/75YmskVdvl

DRC is saying "NO" on Prop 39 because the requirements will create unnecessary barriers by requiring additional identification for all voters in California. California already has secure elections and procedures in place to verify voter identity and ensure secure elections. Requiring government-issued ID to vote in person will make it harder for some people with disabilities to cast their ballots because they are less likely to have current government-issued ID. Requiring ID numbers on vote-by-mail ballots could lead to more mistakes and more ballots being rejected.

Dora also added in the full episode, "you know, Texas tried a similar rule here. And in the first statewide primary under it, roughly 1 in 8 ballots was rejected. And more than 90% of those rejections were tied to the new ID number requirement. So, Prop 39 would make voting harder and riskier, more expensive for Californians, honestly, because that’s what it was designed to do. "

#DisabilityRightsCA #Prop39 #Voting #ElectionDay #LeagueOfWomenVoters
.
.
Video Description: Podcast video clip of Eric Harris and Dora Rose speaking to each other over a video call. Dora is woman with short brown hair and wears pink glasses and has a purple LWV logo background. Eric is briefly on camera, he is a Black man with a shaved head and wears glasses. ASL interpreter below. Bottom logo text: The Game Plan A Disability Rights California Podcast.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

You may have heard that there was a voter registration deadline earlier this week (October 19). However, if you missed it, that's okay!

You can still do same-day voter registration from now through Election Day (November 3)! This is also known as conditional voter registration. It is a safety net for Californians who miss the earlier deadline to register to vote or update their voter registration.

Most people must do same-day voter registration at a vote center, polling place, or county elections office. You can find a location by checking the materials your county elections office mailed to you or your county’s elections website or by searching for early-voting locations that offer same-day voter registration at https://t.co/wIfNtQDPvL.

People with disabilities have an online option for same-day voter registration. If you cannot leave home and want to figure out if this option will work for you, please contact your county elections office or our voting hotline.

If you have questions or are having difficulty voting because of a disability, DRC’s voting hotline is open year-round on weekdays during business hours (9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) (and longer hours on Election Day). Call us at [phone].

We will continue to share voting resources on DRC social media as Election Day gets closer!

#DisabilityRightsCA #VoterRegistration #ElectionDay #MidtermElection #VotingResource
.
.
Image Description: Header Text: 10/20/26 - 11/3/26. Title Text: Same-day voter registration is available! Bottom, a lightbulb icon with text next to it: Also known as conditional voter registration. Blue filtered photo below of 3 generic voting booths outdoors along a brick wall. Each voting divider/booth has an American flag and text with: VOTE. DRC blue/green logo on top center of graphic.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

There are fourteen propositions that will be on the November 3 General Election ballot for voters to decide. Disability Rights California has taken positions on four of these initiatives that could have significant impacts on the disability community.

Learn more about which propositions DRC supports and opposes at the link: https://t.co/jM1BRPaIVv

When we vote, we make decisions that impact the lives of everyone around us. Voters with disabilities, like all voters, have a right make voting decisions about elected leaders and propositions which could directly impact our communities. Make your vote count by this Election Day (November 3)!

#DisabilityRightsCA #Prop39 #VoterID #DisabledVoters #MidtermElection

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

Check out a recent episode of Pushing Limits where Eric Harris, DRC Associate Executive Director, explains some key findings in the 2026 State of the State report. You can listen to the full episode at the link: https://t.co/vWpfNj7huH

The California Disability Leadership Alliance, a coalition of leading disability organizations, has released its second comprehensive report examining how California measures up in advancing equity for people with disabilities. The findings are troubling: California ranks 47th out of all 50 states as a place to live for people with disabilities. The report covers 14 areas that affect everyday life, including education, healthcare, employment, mental health, and more.

The full report offers a closer look at where California is falling short, as well as what needs to change to create a more equitable future for people with disabilities. Read the State of the State at the link: https://t.co/0mUxuvZrgs

#DisabilityRightsCA #PushingLimits #KPFA #StateOfTheState #MentalHealth
.
.
Image Descriptions
Graphic 1: Bold Text: Listen to Pushing Limits at the link! Text over image: Eric Harris, DRC Associate Executive Director. Cut out photo of Eric, he is a smiling Black individual with a shaved head and has a beard and wears a blue suit. Background radio show logo with text: Pushing Limits. Featuring icons of a globe and variety of people with disabilities. Top logo text: 94.1 KPFA.

Graphic 2: Quote Text: "The way that California has addressed mental health in the state has been really frustrating. For many people with lived experience with mental health disabilities, many of them end up being put into the criminal legal system. And that has been a dangerous cycle now for several years." Bottom Text: Learn more by visiting the 2026 State of the State report at the link.

[Merced County Registrar of Voters @MercedCountyROV]

Another wonderful video from our friends at @DisabilityCA. This one explains what you should do if you receive a notice about a problem with your signature on your ballot return envelope. This is a really helpful and informative video! #VoteEarly

[Salud America! @SaludAmerica]

Join our webinar to learn how to help caregivers and adults with intellectual & developmental disabilities navigate Medicaid and Medicare!

#IDD #HealthcareAccess #Medicaid #Medicare @UTHealthSA @The_NHHF @Genentech @DisabilityCA

Register now: https://t.co/FGmzGyOkfF

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

Video Transcript: [ERIC] Can you let folks know what Prop 39 is first? And as best you can in plain language, because a lot of this stuff, as you can imagine and as you know, can be really complicated. [DORA] Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, the first thing that I want people to understand is that Prop 39 is not a response to a problem with California elections. It is the California version of this broader Trump inspired push for voter ID, proof of citizenship, new restrictions on voting, right? It is, at its very essence, a partisan power grab. So do not let anyone tell you that this is not a nonpartisan or a bipartisan measure. It is not. It uses fear about voting to justify making it harder for eligible people to cast a ballot that counts. So here’s what it does. If you vote in person, you’d have to show government issued ID every time. If you, vote by mail, you’d have to put the last four digits. Match, put the matching last four digits of a government ID number on the outside of your return envelope. That’s a gift to identity thieves. Write part of your driver’s license. Our Social Security number would be sitting, which are the likely government ID numbers that would be used would be sitting on the outside of the envelope right next to your name, your address, and your signature. With no privacy flag required by this measure. Okay. That’s just out there. I mean and elections officials would also have to use their best efforts to verify citizenship using government data that wasn’t built for voter eligibility. That’s full of flaws. That returns bad data all the time. So Prop 39 adds new barriers at registration, at the polling place and on the mail ballot itself, while also, you know, creating a completely unnecessary privacy and identity theft risk.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

With Election Day (November 3) fast approaching and voting on our minds, DRC Associate Executive Director Eric Harris is joined by Dora Rose, the Deputy Director for the League of Women Voters of California, on this episode of "The Game Plan" podcast where they discussed what California's Prop 39 bill could mean for voters with disabilities. @emony21 @LWV

Learn more and check out the full episode with Dora Rose at the link: https://t.co/75YmskVdvl

This midterm election, voters will decide to vote "Yes" or "No" on Prop 39. DRC is saying "NO" on Prop 39 because the requirements of the bill will create unnecessary barriers by requiring additional identification for all voters in California. California already has secure elections and procedures in place to verify voter identity and ensure secure elections. Requiring government-issued ID to vote in person will make it harder for some people with disabilities to cast their ballots because they are less likely to have current government-issued ID. Requiring ID numbers on vote-by-mail ballots could lead to more mistakes and more ballots being rejected.

Dora also shares in the episode, "[Prop 39] is the California version of this broader Trump-inspired push for voter ID, proof of citizenship, new restrictions on voting, right? It is, at its very essence, a partisan power grab. So do not let anyone tell you that this is not a nonpartisan or a bipartisan measure. It is not. It uses fear about voting to justify making it harder for eligible people to cast a ballot that counts."

#DisabilityRightsCA #Prop39 #Voting #ElectionDay #LeagueOfWomenVoters
.
.
Video Description: Podcast video clip of Eric Harris and Dora Rose speaking to each other over a video call. Dora is woman with short brown hair and wears pink glasses and has a purple LWV logo background. Eric is briefly on camera, he is a Black man with a shaved head and wears glasses. ASL interpreter below. Bottom logo text: The Game Plan A Disability Rights California Podcast.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

A federal court has ruled that California’s Vote-by-Mail Program violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and California Government Code section 11135. The court held that the Vote-by-Mail Program discriminates against blind voters and others with print disabilities by forcing them to depend on another person to return their ballots.

Learn more and check out the full press release at the link: https://t.co/sXnGTEdalG

The Court held that meaningful access to vote by mail includes the right to vote privately and independently. It pointed to the California Constitution’s command that “voting shall be secret” and found that requiring help from another person “is antithetical to voting in secret.” The Court rejected the Secretary of State’s argument that voters’ right to choose an assistant was enough, explaining that being allowed to have help is very different from being required to have it.

“I’ve been voting for years, and I’ve never once cast a truly private ballot. That’s not because I can’t make my own choices. It’s because the State’s system doesn’t let me finish the job myself. This decision is a step toward changing that,” said Russell Dawson Rawlings, a voter with a mobility disability and named plaintiff.

#DisabilityRightsCA #CaliforniaCouncilOfTheBlind #CaliforniaVote #ElectionDay #ADA @ccb_org @dralegal @RollWithRussell
.
.
Image Descriptions
- Graphic 1: Three logos above for DRC, Disability Rights Advocates, and Brown Goldstein & Levy. Header Text: Press Release. Title Text: Federal Court Rules California Vote-by-Mail Program Discriminates Against Class of Voters with Print Disabilities. Blue filtered photo below of a person mailing out their ballot by dropping it in a mailbox.

- Graphic 2: Same logos. Quote Text: "Blind Californians have waited too long to cast a ballot that is truly our own. Every other voter marks a ballot, seals it, and sends it off without anyone looking over their shoulder. Today the court said we deserve exactly the same. - Guillermo Robles, President of California Council of the Blind. Circled text: Read the full press release at the link.

[AAPD @AAPD]

Earlier this week, the disability community lost Becky Ogle, one of our greatest advocates. Throughout her career, Ogle embraced and cultivated the power of the disability community. She became a central figure among the coalition of disabled leaders campaigning to pass the ADA.

Ogle was a leader in numerous presidential campaigns across the past 30 years, and regularly worked to ensure that candidates seeking public office recognized the disability community as an important political constituency. She was also one of AAPD’s most dedicated supporters throughout the organization’s history.

Ogle will be deeply missed. Her legacy lives on in AAPD’s work.

ID: A photo of Becky Ogle on a white background. Above the photo are the words "in loving memory". Below the photo are the words "AAPD Mourns the Passing of Disability Rights Champion Becky Ogle". The photo of Becky is from AAPD's Spirit of the ADA Torch Relay in 2000. She's smiling very large and wearing sunglasses and a yellow shirt.

[Disability Rights California @DisabilityCA]

Midterm Elections are NOT mid! Elections are a critical time for voters to make decisions about laws, policies, and elected leaders which will impact the lives of everyone around us.

Join Disability Vote California for information about the upcoming General Election on November 3.

Learn more and register at the link: https://t.co/ut9xsu6W4l

In the webinar we will cover:

- Accessible voting options
- The importance of voting in the midterm elections
- What's on the ballot? Races and statewide propositions
- How to get engaged in voting advocacy

Voters with disabilities have the chance to exercise their voting rights and enact change for our communities. Get informed and make your vote count by this Election Day (November 3)!

#DisabilityVoteCalifornia #CFILC #SCDD #DisabilityRightsCA #MidtermElection #ElectionDay
.
.
Image Description: Title Text: Disability Vote California: November 2026 Midterm Election Education Webinar. Circled Text: RSVP: https://t.co/ut9xsu6W4l. Bottom Text: Date: October 27, 2026 Time: 2:00PM. Icons below of several people with varying disabilities grouped together. Top illustration of a clipboard with text: Vote. Logos for CFILC, California SCDD, and DRC.