The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is a clear, consistent and enforceable national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities, was passed into law twenty years ago on July 26, 1990. The ADA had a powerful effect in the United States that also reverberated around the world. The act not only raised the importance of the issue internationally, it also made U.S. legislators more aware of the need to help disabled individuals in other countries.  

IFES works to increase the electoral and political access of all individuals, not least the disabled. People with disabilities comprise at least 10 percent of the global population, and approximately 80 percent of this population lives in developing nations. Yet they remain largely invisible to the decision- and policy-makers who design and implement government programs. To address these concerns, IFES is leading a series of initiatives to promote the electoral and political enfranchisement of people with disabilities in several different arenas.

Among the work that can be done to help the disabled participate in their countries’ affairs and have a say in the way they are governed is to develop programs that help this population engage in the electoral process in an independent manner. This includes equipping polling  stations with ramps for wheelchairs and developing tactile ballots and guides to help the blind and partially sighted people to vote. Voter education and awareness campaigns are also useful to raise the importance of establishing units within government and civil society that facilitate and ensure the participation of this population.  Assessments of the impediments the disabled face in the political process followed by legal and procedural recommendations on how to ease these hurdles are another powerful tool to increase access.

IFES first began working towards the enfranchisement of people with disabilities in 1997, and has worked in more than 30 countries on disability programming. To learn more about our programs and what can be done to help the disabled in elections, please click here.