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I got this from another list & thought I'd pass it on. Bonnie daughter of Jim 80/72 * * * Live well * Laugh often * Love much (Smiling PARKies Live Easier) Join SPARKLE [log in to unmask] > IN THIS SPECIAL ISSUE: > > > DISABILITY COMMUNITY TO RALLY IN PALM BEACH OVER INACCESSIBILITY > > Rally - Friday, 10 AM, Palm Beach County Governmental Center > > Just a few wheelchairs unable to get to the polls can change the way > our country is governed! Your one (1) vote is very important .... > > > Greg Smith, host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show "On A Roll > Talk Radio on Life & Disability" is in route to Palm Beach, Florida to > speak at a rally in support of accessibility in voting. The rally will > be held on Friday, November 10 at 10:00 AM at the Palm Beach County > Governmental Center, 301 North Olive Avenue in West Palm Beach. A large > turnout of disability community members is expected. > > As the world watches the recount of the ballots in Florida, Smith and > local disability community members in South Florida will raise the issue > of the importance of total access at the polls. They will deliver > statistics about the barriers that people with disabilities face in > casting their votes. > > 54 million Americans fit the definition of disabled, which means any > person with a physical or mental condition which substantially limits > one or more of life's major activities. > > "The butterfly ballot represents a convergence of disability and senior > issues, and for both populations, this type of inaccessibility is a > violation of our most fundamental right as Americans," says Smith. > > "This ballot stepped over the bounds of being inaccessible to people > with disabilities, but even so, I question how many people with > traumatic brain injuries, dyslexia, visual impairments and other > conditions voted incorrectly and don't even realize it," he said. > > "We want a clear, understandable ballot to be developed and for all > people in Palm Beach County who voted to have the opportunity to vote > again," said Shelly Gottsagen, Executive Director of the Coalition for > Independent Living. > > The rally is being organized by On A Roll and the Coalition for > Independent Living Options, the Center for Independent Living in West > Palm Beach. There are over 400 Centers for Independent Living in the > United States which provide advocacy, peer support, independent living > skills training, and information and referall to people with > disabilities. > > WAPD strongly supports this rally and urges you to participate in any > manner that you can. Join the fight in Florida! The WAPD Florida state > chapter will be heavily supporting this rally. > > WHAT ABOUT VOTING ACCESSIBILITY IN EVERY STATE?!?! > > Now is the time to be heard! > ______________________________________ >