Yolo County Disability Voting Rights Week Declared by Yolo County Board of Supervisors
VAAC members, Elections staff, and Board of Supervisors pose with the resolution proclaiming September 11–15th, Disability Voting Rights Week: Front row: Yolo County Registrar of Voters, Jesse Salinas; VAAC member, Kristy Lee; VAAC member, Kate Laddish; Yolo County Supervisor, Lucas Frerichs; Yolo County Deputy of Elections, Armando Salud Back row: Yolo County Supervisor, Jim Provenza; Yolo County Board of Supervisor Chair, Oscar Villegas; Yolo County Supervisor, Angel Barajas

Yolo County Disability Voting Rights Week Declared by Yolo County Board of Supervisors

Friday, September 15, 2023

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors passed a Resolution on September 12, 2023, proclaiming September 11-15th as Disability Voting Rights Week.

“We are proud to say Yolo County is the first county in the State of California to take part in the American Association of People with Disabilities’ national, nonpartisan initiative,” said Jesse Salinas, Yolo County Registrar of Voters.

Disability Voting Rights Week brings attention to registering and educating voters about aspects of the voting process that affect people with disabilities. The 2021 American Community Survey estimates almost 20,000 voting-age residents with disabilities live in Yolo County. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that most Americans at some point in their lives will either have a disability or know someone who has one.

At the Board of Supervisors Meeting, Kate Laddish, a member of the Yolo County Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee (VAAC) presented. Laddish is also the chair of the of the Yolo County In-Home Supportive Services Advisory Committee and a co-founder and steering committee member of the nonpartisan civic engagement group, Democracy Winters.

“Accommodations are not a one-size-fits-all-disabilities thing. We must take into consideration challenges experienced by, and accommodations for, people with mobility disabilities; people with blindness, low vision, or other vision disabilities; people who are Deaf or hard of hearing; people with cognitive disabilities; people with speech, language, sensory, and learning disabilities; people with mental illness; and people with many other disabilities, including those that are readily apparent and those that are not apparent to others. Something as localized as having a tremor in one hand can affect someone’s ability to vote,” presented Laddish on Tuesday.

The Yolo County VAAC assists and advises the Elections Office on voting accessibly matters and is a forum for voicing concerns and suggesting remedies and correcting opportunities for collaboration and outreach. The committee also discusses specific information about the laws and procedures related to voting that directly impact people with disabilities. To learn more about or get involved in the Yolo County VAAC please visit: https://www.yoloelections.org/get-involved/vaac.

The Elections office encourage residents to connect with Yolo County ACE – Assessor/Clerk-Recorder/Elections on Facebook: @YoloACE, Instagram: @YoloCoACE, Threads: @YoloCoACE, YouTube: @Yolo County ACE, TikTok: @yolocoace and X:@YoloCoACE to receive the most up to date information.

* * *