#CripTheVote 2019 Topic and Feedback Survey

Help us plan #CripTheVote activities for 2019 by taking this brief survey. You can also click here for a text only version of the survey you can download, complete, and email back to us at: CripTheVote@gmail.com.

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Live Tweeting Midterm Election Night 2018

Young Adult with Disabilities to Healthcare Justice Activist: A Narrative and a Plea to Vote

Photo by Nate Gowdy

This essay is part of a partnership between #CripTheVote and Rooted In Rights. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

===============

My Early Interest In Politics
By Leslie A. Zukor

My first memories of being interested in politics were in eighth grade, when we learned about political theory. I remember being fascinated about how democracy could morph into authoritarianism. By the time I had completed one semester of high school, I had perused political philosophy. Plato was a personal favorite, and I found myself gravitating toward conservative ideas - especially on matters like abortion and other cultural issues. During my sophomore, junior, and senior years, I volunteered on political campaigns, from the state legislature to the US Congress, and even ventured to Washington, DC for a couple of educational programs.

However, it wasn’t until I identified as a disabled person that my worldview began to crystallize. For most of high school, political issues were mere abstractions. I grew up in a wealthy suburb of Seattle, so my food, shelter, and college education were not in question. Before I was an adult with diagnosed disabilities, I had little awareness of healthcare, the economy, and our social safety net. In short, living in wealthy suburbia culminated in privilege, as well as obliviousness to the political and economic realities so many people face.

The Onset of Disability and My Political Consciousness

While I was taking summer courses in between my freshman and sophomore years of college, everything changed. Attending Wellesley, I had hoped to major in Classical Studies and Philosophy, and to do graduate work in either politics or history. From my nineteen-year-old vantage point, my life’s story would inevitably culminate in a PhD and a job somewhere in academia. However, driven by stress, biological factors, and ill-advised medication given by my neurologist, I suffered a breakdown, which culminated in mood dysregulation, panic disorder, and PTSD. During my three-and-a-half-week hospitalization, I started seeing the first signs of what would become nearly a decade and a half of disability.

Only a few weeks after my hospitalization, my family received its first bills for my medical care back in Boston. I quickly learned that I was lucky that my Dad had taken out a policy for me through Wellesley that had covered mental health, because our Washington State-based Regence insurance didn’t afford the same protections. As a result, my family and I averted a $30,000+ hospital bill. No longer was the issue of healthcare merely an abstraction; no longer were prescription drug costs something that only my elders had to face. Now, as a person whose disabilities required medication for the rest of her life, issues I once took for granted were now a matter of life vs. death, poverty vs. sustenance. As my family paid more and more for my medical bills, totalling well over $400,000 in fourteen years, I came to the realization that affordable, accessible healthcare was a preeminent disability right.

Involving Myself in Electoral and Single-Issue Politics

My healthcare justice activism was ultimately motivated by the cementing of my identity as a disabled American. In 2014, I was officially approved for Social Security Disability. Seeing how much Medicare and low income subsidies I personally qualified for under Part D benefited my life, I actively advocated for the policy for all Americans. Thus, it should come as no surprise that I spent the better part of a year volunteering for Bernie Sanders’s Presidential campaign, being a delegate to the Washington State Democratic Convention, and serving as First Vice Chair of the Washington State Democrats Disabilities Issues Caucus. In all of my activism, some of which garnered press coverage, I emphasized the importance of single-payer healthcare for people with disabling, chronic health conditions, like myself.

Although the primaries ended in a loss for my candidate, my personal journey in politics was just beginning. Inspired by the state’s caucus system and my own involvement in the electoral process, I delved full-speed ahead into the healthcare justice movement. In October of 2016, I joined Health Care For All - WA, where I now sit on the Political Action Committee. I also volunteered for a year as Steering Committee President, Events Committee Chair, and served a stint on the Board of Directors for Whole Washington, a well-intentioned, but poorly executed Washington State initiative campaign, to ensure healthcare for every man, woman, and child - regardless of ability or disability.

Setting my Sights on Single Payer

The pinnacle of my political involvement came in January of 2018, when I testified before our state legislature’s health committee on Senate Bill 5701, which would have established a single-payer system in Washington State. Although I had only a minute to speak, I emphasized the bill’s positive impact on disabled people struggling to find insurance, and also recounted my personal story - one that included a private insurer’s chiding my family and me on a recorded line to go to the hospital, in lieu of covering my psychiatric medications on an outpatient basis.

Equally powerful, I elucidated the harrowing reality that the only reason I was alive was because my parents could afford to pay for the best doctors and most cutting-edge treatments when I was a young adult, without which I may well have succumbed to suicide. I was later told that the friendly overflow crowd gave me thunderous applause in the hall. This chance to offer my voice and experience as a disabled person in service of actual policy was transformative for me, and inspires my efforts to continue advocating for the crucial disability right of ensuring quality, affordable healthcare for all.

Voting and Values

With our next national election coming up quickly, I have had plenty of time to reflect on my political journey - from being raised by a liberal mom and a center-left dad, to becoming a young conservative, to ultimately arriving at progressivism in my late twenties. I realize that with different formative experiences, my beliefs and values would have been far different. Thus, even though advocating for a healthcare system abolishing private insurance companies culminates in my voting for left-leaning politicians, another person with a disability might see the same issue from a polar opposite perspective. As someone who values freedom of conscience, I would urge everyone to be true to his or her value system when voting - regardless of how the media frames the issues, regardless of how one’s family has voted in the past, and regardless of how one has cast ballots in earlier years. In short, I haven’t always voted for the same party or the same issues, and I see nothing wrong with changes in worldview as one evolves as a person and member of society.

As it stands, on November 6, 33 Senate seats, all 435 Congressional races, and a myriad of other local and national issues will be decided via the American electoral process. While I will be cheering for healthcare justice advocate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and voting for Berniecrat Sarah Smith in Washington’s ninth Congressional District, I urge you to take the advice of the Father of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Justin Dart, as you do your own research on which candidates and issues reflect and further your values. “Vote,” he said, “as if your life depends on it. Because it does.”

Each time we cast a ballot, we make a statement about how we believe our government and a just society should function, and about which candidates are the best to carry out these ideological commitments. It is all of our jobs as people with disabilities to ensure that government both reflects and acts upon our concerns, however diverse they may be. This election season, exercise your right to vote, urge your friends and family members to do the same, and may the candidates and initiatives best for disability issues prevail.

Leslie A. Zukor is a disability rights activist, who serves as First Vice Chair of the Washington State Democrats Disabilities Issues Caucus, and is the Secretary of the Washington State Political Items Collectors. She also is a member of Health Care For All - WA, and serves on its Political Action Committee. Holding a bachelor of arts in Anthropology from Reed College, Leslie transferred from Wellesley College and went to school in Oregon part-time for five years, before she earned her degree. Her interests include political history, photography, and collecting liberal, progressive, and Leftist political memorabilia. You may follow her on her personal Facebook page @facebook.com/lazukor.

October 21, 2018 #CripTheVote Chat: Voter Mobilization

October 7, 2018 #CripTheVote Chat - Midterm Elections 2018: What’s At Stake

10/21/18 Twitter Chat on Voter Mobilization

Graphic with aqua blue background and an illustration of a checkmark in a box on the left and on the right is a box with the word 'VOTE' with a ballot inserted at the top. Text in black reads: #CripTheVote Twitter Chat, Voter Mobilization, October 21, 2018, 4 pm Pacific/ 5 pm Mountain/ 6 pm Central/ 7 pm Eastern, Guest hosts: @Sblahov and @SarahFunes, Details: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com

#CripTheVote Chat: Voter Mobilization

October 21, 2018

4 pm Pacific, 5 pm Mountain, 6 pm Central, 7 pm Eastern

Guest hosts: Sarah Blahovec and Sarah Funes

Election Day is in 2 weeks away and #CripTheVote is thrilled to have guest hosts Sarah Blahovec and Sarah Funes, two disability activists involved with community organizing and get-out-the-vote efforts for the disability community, join us for a discussion on voter outreach and mobilization.

How to Participate

Follow @GreggBeratan @AndrewPulrang @DisVisibility @SarahFunes. When it’s time for the chat, search #CripTheVote on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation.

If you don’t use Twitter, you can follow along in real time here: http://twubs.com/CripTheVote

If you might be overwhelmed by the amount of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @DisVisibility’s account. The questions will be Tweeted 5-6 minutes apart.

Another way to participate in the chat is to use this app that allows you to pause the chat if the Tweets are coming at you too fast: http://www.tchat.io/

Here’s an article about how to participate in a Twitter chat: https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-to-join-a-twitter-hashtag-chat/

Check out this captioned ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/

Introductory Tweets and Chat Questions

Welcome to the #CripTheVote chat on voter mobilization and outreach with guest hosts @Sblahov & @SarahFunes! We look forward to hearing about what is happening your community.

Remember to use the #CripTheVote hashtag when you tweet. If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #CripTheVote”

Q1 Please introduce yourself and share any thoughts about #Midterms2018 as Election Day approaches in 2 weeks. #CripTheVote

Q2 There are many different campaigns focused on getting out the vote. Why is voter participation important, especially for the disability community? If you are a student on campus, what’s your experience like registering to vote? #CripTheVote

Q3 What have you seen regarding voter outreach and engagement that is particularly good in terms of accessibility & being inclusive of people with disabilities (PWDs)? How can voter outreach of PWDs improve?  #CripTheVote

Q4 What are some unique policy, structural, and social barriers people in the disability community face when it comes to voter turnout? What changes need to happen at the local and state level to improve the situation? Are you aware there are Voter Advisory Committees at the state and county level? If not will you consider applying for yours? #CripTheVote

Q5 What are some other strategies or ideas on how to mobilize reluctant, uninterested, apolitical, or cynical people from voting, especially from the disability community? #CripTheVote

Q6 Slowly, the public is realizing that the disability vote is a significant voting bloc. What are some current issues that you think will mobilize voters with disabilities during #Midterms2018? #CripTheVote 

Q7 What are the risks and rewards of seeing the disability community, an incredibly diverse population, as a single voting bloc? How can we effectively ‘flex’ our power? #CripTheVote

Q8 What are you going to do to encourage people to vote? What are some opportunities available for you to volunteer or participate in your county and state or online? #CripTheVote

This concludes our #CripTheVote chat on voter mobilization and outreach! Thank you to everyone for joining us today, especially our guest hosts @Sblahov & @SarahFunes. 

Live Tweet Election Day results with us on 11/6: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-cripthevote-events_12.html

Keep the conversation going! A recap of this #CripTheVote chat will be up shortly. Check out our blog for the latest: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/

10/7/18 #CripTheVote Chat - Midterms 2018: What’s At Stake

#CripTheVote Chat - Midterms 2018: What’s At Stake

October 7, 2018

4 pm Pacific, 5 pm Mountain, 6 pm Central, 7 pm Eastern

The 2018 Midterm Elections are just about a month away. In this chat, we will take a look at what is at stake for the disability community this year.

Background Links

“In recent elections, about 60% of the voting eligible population votes during presidential election years, and about 40% votes during midterm elections.” -- Voter Turnout, FairVote.com https://www.fairvote.org/voter_turnout#voter_turnout_101

Ballotpedia’s Election Analysis Hub, 2018 https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Election_Analysis_Hub,_2018

FiveThirtyEight.com 2018 House Forecast https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/house/

FiveThirtyEight.com 2018 Senate Forecast https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/senate/

How to Participate

Follow @GreggBeratan @AndrewPulrang @DisVisibility. When it’s time for the chat, search #CripTheVote on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation.

If you don’t use Twitter, you can follow along in real time here: http://twubs.com/CripTheVote

If you might be overwhelmed by the amount of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @DisVisibility’s account. The questions will be Tweeted 5-6 minutes apart.

Another way to participate in the chat is to use this app that allows you to pause the chat if the Tweets are coming at you too fast: http://www.tchat.io/

Here’s an article about how to participate in a Twitter chat: https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-to-join-a-twitter-hashtag-chat/

Check out this captioned ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/

Introductory Tweets and Chat Questions

Welcome to the #CripTheVote chat on what’s at stake in the 2018 Midterm Elections. We look forward to finding out what’s important to you, and exploring different possible futures in a post-Midterms world.

Remember to use the #CripTheVote hashtag when you tweet. If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #CripTheVote”

Q1: Sooooooo, it’s been some week. Before we start talking about the midterms, how are you doing since yesterday’s confirmation of Kavanaugh? How are you processing everything and taking care of yourself? #CripTheVote

Q2: How much have you followed and / or participated in past midterm elections? #CripTheVote

Q3: Why do you think voter participation tends to be lower in midterm elections? Have you been more, or less active this year? #CripTheVote

Q4: Name three disability-related issues that are at the top of your mind right now. #CripTheVote

Q5: What are some disability issues in your state and local area that could be affected by the outcome of #Midterms2018? #CripTheVote

Q6: What specific, pressing disability issues nationally “hang in the balance” based on what happens in the Midterm Elections? #CripTheVote

Q7: How do you think disability policy and activism would change if the House and / or the Senate flipped from Republican to Democratic control? #CripTheVote

Q8: What will happen in the next two years or so if control in the House and Senate stay basically the same after #Midterms2018? #CripTheVote

Q9: What can we do to better inform candidates and disabled voters of what’s at stake in the 2018 Midterm Election? #CripTheVote

This concludes our #CripTheVote chat on Midterm Elections! Join us 10/21/18 for our next chat on voter mobilization w/ guest hosts @Sblahov & @SarahFunes: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-cripthevote-events_12.html

Keep the conversation going! A recap of this #CripTheVote chat will be up shortly. Check out our blog for the latest: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/

September 23, 2018 #CripTheVote Chat: State and Local Disability Issues

9/23/18 #CripTheVote Chat: State & Local Disability Issues

Over the last two years, for good reasons, #CripTheVote has mostly focused on disability issues at the national level on the U.S. Presidency and Congress as have similar efforts in other countries like #CripTheVoteUK. But a lot happens in states, counties, cities, and towns that directly and immediately affect disabled people’s lives. Tomorrow’s members of Congress, cabinet secretaries, and presidents often start out as today’s village board members, city councilors, state legislators, and governors. In this chat we will explore state and local government, and how the growing disability  community is doing in these important but often overlooked arenas.

How to Participate

Follow @GreggBeratan @AndrewPulrang @DisVisibility. When it’s time for the chat, search #CripTheVote on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation. 

If you don’t use Twitter, you can follow along in real time here: http://twubs.com/CripTheVote

If you might be overwhelmed by the amount of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @DisVisibility’s account. The questions will be Tweeted 5-6 minutes apart.

Another way to participate in the chat is to use this app that allows you to pause the chat if the Tweets are coming at you too fast: http://www.tchat.io/

Here’s an article about how to participate in a Twitter chat: https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-to-join-a-twitter-hashtag-chat/

Check out this captioned ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/

Introductory Tweets and Chat Questions

Welcome to the #CripTheVote chat on state and local disability issues. We look forward to learning about what’s happening in your community. Remember to use the #CripTheVote hashtag when you tweet. If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #CripTheVote”

Q1 Which state, county, city, town, or village do you live in and how would you describe the disability community in your area? #CripTheVote

Q2 Who is active in disability issues in your state and local area? What advocacy organizations or groups are you familiar with on disability issues? #CripTheVote

Q3 How well do your state and local elected officials understand disability issues? Are they generally supportive, resistant, or indifferent? What form does their resistance or support take? #CripTheVote

Q4 What are some of the highest priority disability issues in your state? Are there specific budget issues? Critical pieces of legislation? Long term problems that still need to be addressed? #CripTheVote

Q5 What are some of the highest priority disability issues in your village, town, city, or county? #CripTheVote

Q6 How do your local governments address accessibility in your community, including public buildings and spaces, businesses, and transportation? #CripTheVote

Q7 How are you involved in disability activism in your state and local area? Share some of your experiences, good or bad. #CripTheVote

Q8 With so much focus on the national political scene, how can we ensure that local disability issues get the attention they deserve? #CripTheVote

September 9, 2018 #CripTheVote Chat on Partisanship and The Disability Community

9/9/18 #CripTheVote Chat on Partisanship and the Disability Community

Politically our country is deeply polarized. The evidence we have seen of the voting patterns of the Disability Community would seem to indicate that our voting falls along the same patterns as the country as a whole. A number of projects have worked to develop the electoral power of the Disability Community by portraying us as a potential voting bloc. In this chat we would like to explore the role of partisanship in expanding or limiting our community’s voice in the political sphere.

Useful articles

How Did Disabilities Become a Partisan Issue? By David Graham

The Non-Politics of Disability, By Jay Ruckleshaus

How Congress is hacking away at disability rights, By Sam Bagenstos

Definitions of “partisan”

Webster’s Dictionary

Wikipedia

How to Participate

Follow @GreggBeratan @AndrewPulrang @DisVisibility. When it’s time for the chat, search #CripTheVote on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation.

If you don’t use Twitter, you can follow along in real time here: http://twubs.com/CripTheVote

If you might be overwhelmed by the amount of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @DisVisibility’s account. The questions will be Tweeted 5-6 minutes apart.

Another way to participate in the chat is to use this app that allows you to pause the chat if the Tweets are coming at you too fast: http://www.tchat.io/

Here’s an article about how to participate in a Twitter chat: https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-to-join-a-twitter-hashtag-chat/

Check out this captioned ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc

https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/

Questions for the Partisanship and The Disability Community Chat

Q1: What does ‘partisan’ mean to you? Do you think we’re living in a time of hyperpartisanship? #CripTheVote

Q2: Do you identify as a person whose political beliefs are partisan? If so, why?

Q3: Would you describe the disability community as partisan? Would the Disability Community be better served if it were more or less partisan? Why or why not? #CripTheVote

Q4: How has the Nation’s political polarization affected the Disability Community and our ability influence political and/or policy change? #CripTheVote

Q5: Disability policy issues have often been seen as bipartisan. Do you believe that has changed in the current climate? If so how? If you believe it still is what is it that makes our issues different? #CripTheVote

Q6: #CripTheVote has always said that we are partisan only to the Disability Community and this is why we focus on issues. Are there issues that you use to determine your vote? What are they and why? #CripTheVote

Q7: What are the dangers or advantages of single-issue voting? Does it further marginalize disabled people who experience multiple forms of oppression and discrimination? #CripTheVote

Q8: In the current polarized environment, where many issues have huge stakes & moral implications, how can the Disability Community keep some degree of bipartisanship alive on disability issues? Is it necessary? #CripTheVote

August 26, 2018 #CripTheVote Chat on SCOTUS Nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh

#CripTheVote Fall 2018 Schedule

#CripTheVote is once again gearing up for major elections, the 2018 Midterms. On November 6, voters will choose candidates for all 435 seats in the U.S.House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate. In addition, 34 states will elect governors, and literally thousands of local and municipal offices will be up for election.

#CripTheVote has held periodic topical chats and hosted ongoing conversations on disability in electoral politics since January, 2016. In the run-up to the 2018 Midterms, #CripTheVote will host the following chats, and live tweet the results on election day. Times, guest hosts, and questions will be announced.

September 9: Partisanship and the Disability Community

Exploring what ‘partisanship” means, in terms of political parties, ideologies, and political beliefs, and what it means in practice for disabled people. [Recap of Sept. 9th chat]

September 23: State and Local Issues

How state and local elections and elected officials impact disability policy, and which disability issues are especially relevant to local elections.

October 7: Midterms 2018: What’s At Stake

An overview of the most active and urgent disability issues in this year’s Midterm Elections.

October 21: Voter Mobilization

What prevents disabled people from voting, and how can we “get out the vote” among eligible disabled voters?

November 6: Live-Tweeting Election Night

Join us as we share our voting stories, watch the results come in, and process the outcomes.

After the Midterms, we will take a bit of a break from electoral politics and focus on some more thematic, long-term disability issues:

November 11: Food Insecurity and Hunger

Exploring the multiple ways that hunger and disability are interrelated.

December 2: Poverty Narratives

Discussing how poverty is understood and talked about in multiple contexts, and how this relates to the disability community.

For more information on #CripTheVote:

Frequently Asked Questions

Why We Use "#CripTheVote"

#CripTheVote Blog

#CripTheVote Facebook Page

#CripTheVote Disability Issues Surveys

Contacts:

Alice Wong: @SFdirewolf

Gregg Beratan: @GreggBeratan

Andrew Pulrang: @AndrewPulrang

8/26/18 Twitter Chat: #SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh

Image description: yellow graphic with a black Twitter bird icon on the left and an illustration of tipped scales in black on the right. Text reads: #CripTheVote SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh, August 26, 2018, 4 pm Pacific/ 7 pm Eastern, Details: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com

SCOTUS Nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh

Sunday, August 26, 2018 

4 pm Pacific, 5 pm Mountain, 6 pm Central, 7 pm Eastern

Join #CripTheVote for this discussion about the nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Before the hearing for Judge Kavanaugh starts on September 4th, we will discuss what this nomination will mean for the disability community and the nominee’s record on civil rights and other important issues.

Additional links

Grassley: Kavanaugh Hearings to Begin September 4 (August 10, 2018) 

Disability Rights Groups React to Premature Scheduling of Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing (August 13 2018, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law)

10 Reasons People with Disabilities Should Oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s Nomination (August 2018, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law)

Review of disability-related cases by Judge Brett Kavanaugh (July 2018, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law)

Kavanaugh Thinks It’s Okay to Perform Elective Surgery on People Without Their Consent (August 9, 2018 by Hannah Leibson & Rebecca Cokley)

Judge Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court Nomination Could Put the Americans With Disabilities Act in Danger (July 26, 2018, by Robyn Powell)

The Center for Public Representation Opposes the Nomination of Judge Kavanaugh (August 6, 2018)

Center for Medicare Advocacy Statement on the Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court (July 10, 2018)

AUCD Opposes the Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States (July 15, 2018)

Plain Language: AUCD Opposes the Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States (August 31, 2018) 

Why DREDF Opposes Judge Kavanaugh’s Appointment to the Supreme Court (August 15, 2018)

The American Association of People with Disabilities Opposes the Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court (August 15, 2018)

NCIL Opposes Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to U.S. Supreme Court (August 8, 2018)

Oppose the Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States (July 17, 2018, CivilRights.org)

How to Participate

Follow @GreggBeratan @AndrewPulrang @DisVisibility. When it’s time for the chat, search #CripTheVote on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation. 

If you don’t use Twitter, you can follow along in real time here: http://twubs.com/CripTheVote

If you might be overwhelmed by the amount of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @DisVisibility’s account. The questions will be Tweeted 5-6 minutes apart. 

Another way to participate in the chat is to use this app that allows you to pause the chat if the Tweets are coming at you too fast: http://www.tchat.io/ 

Here’s an article about how to participate in a Twitter chat: https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-to-join-a-twitter-hashtag-chat/

Check out this captioned ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc
https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/

Introductory Tweets and Questions for the Chat

Welcome to the #CripTheVote chat on #SCOTUS nominees and Judge Brett Kavanaugh. FYI, throughout the chat SCOTUS refers to the Supreme Court of the United States. 

Remember to use the #CripTheVote hashtag when you tweet. If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #CripTheVote”

Content warnings: abortion, bodily autonomy, medical coercion, forced treatment, forced surgery. Please feel free to mute or take a break from this chat if needed. 

9/4 will be the first day of the confirmation hearing of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve as #SCOTUS Associate Justice with questioning beginning 9/5 https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/rep/releases/grassley-kavanaugh-hearings-to-begin-september-4 #CripTheVote

Q1 Why does the Supreme Court, and the justices nominated to #SCOTUS, matter to you as a disabled person, to the future of the entire country? #CripTheVote

Q2 What are some recent and past examples of #SCOTUS nominees with significant track records on disability rights (both negative and positive)? #CripTheVote

Q3 Once the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh was announced, what were your thoughts about his professional background and rulings as a judge? #CripTheVote

Q4 On the Affordable Care Act, Kavanaugh dissented in a decision that said the #ACA was constitutional. What are your concerns on how this will impact access to quality healthcare? #CripTheVote http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/center-for-medicare-advocacy-statement-on-the-nomination-of-judge-brett-kavanaugh-to-the-united-states-supreme-court/

Note on language: ‘dissented’ means disagreeing with an opinion or decision held by a majority of people. ‘Affirmed the constitutionality’ means a decision or law that is in agreement with the United States Constitution #CripTheVote 

In the case Doe ex rel. Tarlow v. D.C, Kavanaugh vacated a decision that protected disabled people’s right to self-determination & decision-making with elective surgeries including abortion. For more: https://talkpoverty.org/2018/08/09/kavanaugh-thinks-okay-perform-elective-surgery-people-without-consent/

The case: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-dc-circuit/1348102.html #CripTheVote

Q5 What are your thoughts and concerns about this ruling by Kavanaugh in Doe ex rel. Tarlow v. D.C and how it will impact the disability community if he is confirmed to #SCOTUS? #CripTheVote

Q6 What are some other ways the Kavanaugh nomination to #SCOTUS will impact reproductive choice, voting rights, civil rights, workers rights and other important issues?  #CripTheVote

Kavanaugh also has an expansive view of the Executive Branch, believing that presidents should not be subject to civil lawsuits or criminal investigations while in office. https://civilrights.org/oppose-confirmation-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-united-states/ #CripTheVote

Q7 How will Kavanaugh’s view of Presidential power put the checks and balances at risk between the legislative, judicial, and executive branch of the federal govt? For more about the different branches of govt: https://www.aucd.org/docs/policy/Plain%20Text_Nomination%20of%20Judge%20Brett%20Kavanaugh.pdf #CripTheVote

Q8 What can individuals do to voice their opinions about Kavanaugh or any #SCOTUS nominee? 

This concludes our #CripTheVote chat on #SCOTUS nominees and Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Thank you for joining us today. A compilation of Tweets from this #CripTheVote chat will be up shortly. Check out our blog for the latest: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/

Take The #CripTheVote Challenge

With less than three months until the Midterm Election on November 6, now is the time for disabled voters to take the #CripTheVote Challenge. Pick three disability issues you care about most, and ask candidates about them.

We invite #CripTheVote readers, participants, and friends to make this a group effort.

First, choose your three issues and compose a tweet for them. Don't forget to include the #CripTheVote hashtag in your tweets so your questions and replies become part of the larger conversation.

Example:

Disability policy questions for @CandidateX -

1. Would you include coverage for home care in any #Medicare4All bill you would support? 

2. Do you support ending subminimum wage for disabled workers?

3. Do you support the Disability Integration Act #DIAtoday?

#CripTheVote

Or, you can do one tweet per question if there's more you need to say about each one.

Next, ask candidates in your areas the three questions you have developed. Again, use Twitter and the #CripTheVote hashtag so everyone can see the impact we are having, and also see any candidate responses you get. Of course you can also ask your questions in other ways: personally at campaign events, comment sections on candidate websites, on other social media like Facebook and Tumblr, Letters to the Editor of local newspapers, and direct letters to candidates. Adding other, related movement hashtags to your tweets can also help introduce others to disability issues.

If you’re not sure what disability issues to ask about, check out these links to disability policy statements and overviews:

2018 National Council on Independent Living Legislative & Advocacy Priorities Booklet

American Association of People with Disabilities / #RevUp Issues Guide

#CripTheVote Disability Issues Surveys (2016 & 2018)

Don’t let candidates get through the campaign without addressing disability issues. Join the #CripTheVote Challenge!

If you have any questions about this or any other #CripTheVote initiative, contact:

Alice Wong

Twitter: @SFdirewolf

Email: DisabilityVisibilityProject@gmail.com   

Gregg Beratan

Twitter: @GreggBeratan

Email: g.beratan@gmail.com

Andrew Pulrang

Twitter: @AndrewPulrang

Email: apulrang@icloud.com