The right to vote has always been our innate right regardless of our physical challenge. However, for many decades, physically disabled Americans have been unable to exercise their rights because of inaccessibility to voting locations – churches, schools, state buildings and so on. Thanks to ADA and to Disability Vote Project, disabled voters are finally able to access most voting locations, and now is a good time to thank again friends of the disabled, such as John McCain, who was one of the principal co-sponsor of the American with Disabilities Act in 1990 and again in June 2008, when he supported the House bill to pass the ADA Amendments Act, that extend protections to epileptics, diabetics, cancer patients and physically disabled people with prosthetic limbs.

Right now, the Supreme Court does not recognize those with partial physical disabilities as falling under the category of the law’s protection. No one can better understand the everyday challenges a physically disabled person – partial or total - encounters better than John McCain, who himself was one for years after his war injuries. McCain has promised to enact legislation that would build on the principles of the Money Follows the Person Initiative, while staying within a responsible budget.

Should McCain win the presidential election and enter the White House, he would be the second president, after Franklin D. Roosevelt, who truly knows the meaning of disability. He is also the only one in this 2008 campaign who had the decency to address the American Association of People with Disabilities, showing the disability community that the government cares and does count on their votes, just like every other American voters. It’s the best recognition and incentive one can give this community to become involved in politics.

JOHN MCCAIN AND ADA.
By Johana Nadler