In the first few months of #CripTheVote, back during the 2016 primaries, we posted a disability issues survey, hoping to get an idea of what kinds of issues and policy ideas disabled voters were thinking about. The results helped guide #CripTheVote discussions, and also provided some concrete ideas to share with candidates, to help engage them more with disability concerns.
Two years later, we decided to run the same survey again, with the same purpose, but also to see how opinions and priorities might have changed. We ran the same questions and options, but also added a place where people could suggest new issues not included in the original survey, that might have emerged since 2016.
This year, we hoped to get at least 500 responses, which is about what we got in 2016. In the end, 589 people responded! And you can see the results … in graphical charts and text data here:
2018 #CripTheVote Disability Issues Survey Results
In this chat, we will discuss these results, what they might mean, and how we can use them during this Midterm Election year.
How to Participate in the Chat
Follow @GreggBeratan @AndrewPulrang and @DisVisibility. When it’s time, 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 feel overwhelmed by the volume of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @AndrewPulrang’s account.
Check out this explanation of how to participate in a Twitter chat by Ruti Regan: https://storify.com/RutiRegan/examplechat
Check out this captioned ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc
https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/
Introductory Tweets:
Welcome to a Twitter chat on the 2018 #CripTheVote Disability Issues Survey. Please 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”
Our discussion will reference results from the 2018 and 2016 #CripTheVote Disability Issues Surveys, which you can review here: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/p/2016-survey.html
Before we start, a note about methodology. We decided to use SurveyMonkey again because of its rich graphical reporting, and to be consistent with the 2016 survey. We also offered a text-only version. #CripTheVote
11 responses were submitted that way and are fully incorporated into the final results. Obviously, this is not a scientific survey or definitive measurement of what the disability community in America thinks on all topics. The purpose is to spark conversation. #CripTheVote
Questions:
Q1: How well do the 2018 survey results match up with your own issue preferences and priorities? #CripTheVote
Q2: Which results of the 2018 Survey surprised you? Which results are good to see and which do you disagree with? #CripTheVote
Q3: Defending Social Security stands out as the top rated policy by far at 72%, with the next highest policy, hiring more disabled people in govt at 56.32%. In 2016, Social Security ranked lower, while all of the scores were closer together. Any thoughts on this? #CripTheVote
Q4: Accessibility-related issues scored fairly high, the 3rd highest priority issue category, and 5th ranked out of 15 policy proposals. What kinds of actual policies and political strategies can help make practical gains in accessibility? #CripTheVote
Q5: What do you think of the lower-ranked issues, Employment, Education, Long Term Care, Transportation, and Assistive Technology? Why do you think these issues ranked relatively low in both years? #CripTheVote
Q6: Aside from a few notable differences, like the much higher ranking for defending Social Security, there wasn’t much change in results between 2016 and 2018. What do you think that suggests? #CripTheVote
Q7: What are your thoughts about the new ‘write-in’ policy ideas? What’s missing? What do you care about? #CripTheVote
Q8: Which results would be most important to know for candidates running for office? #CripTheVote
Q9: How can we use these survey results most effectively during the Midterm Election campaigns? #CripTheVote
This concludes the #CripTheVote chat about our 2018 Disability Issues Survey. Join us on 5/20, for our chat “Making Activism Accessible” with guest host @autselfadvocacy! https://www.facebook.com/events/178897666172260/
