A lawsuit was filed in Harris County to limit curbside voting for the current election. ADAPT of Texas has joined other groups, including the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, to oppose limiting curbside voting. Filing an amicus brief, the groups point out this is blatant discrimination because it discriminates against people with disabilities.
Category Archives: News
EARLY VOTING DONE BUT VOTING ISN’T OVER
Early voting is done. It’s too late to mail in your ballot (if you want to be sure it gets counted) but you can turn it in in person at the County building at 5501 Airport (for Travis County), or you can turn it in on Nov. 3rd at a regular polling place. Voting in person is now Tuesday November 3rd.
Voter suppression did not stop this wild woman from showing the power of the disability vote. Check it out! Click here
Nancy Crowther showing off her I VOTED sticker at the end of long journey.
PLAN YOUR VOTE LIVE VOTING Q& A with Coalition of Disability Organizations
Haven’t voted yet? Plan your vote! A live voting Q& A for Texas voters to get clarity on how to safely and independently cast your ballots for the November election. This event will focus on voters with disabilities and issues of concern to us, including voting by mail, early voting, polling place accessibility, and how to report voting complaints. Attendees can submit questions ahead of time to Rev Up TX
Or you can ask during the event via the comment section, or tag us on social media.
Thurs. October 15 1:00 to 2:00 pm CST /12:00 to 1:00 pm MT
It’s on Facebook: click here
You can also access the event live on Twitter: or YouTube
The event is free and open to the public. ASL interpretation will be provided. Closed caption video will be done through Facebook Live
VOTE
Early in person voting starts Tuesday October 13, and runs through October 30th. Here in Travis County the locations will be open 7 am to 7 pm Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 pm on Sunday. There are also 5 super centers that will be open till 9 pm Oct 28, 29 and 30. Early in person voting has tended to be less crowded and smaller to no lines.
Voting by mail? Be sure to send your ballot back quickly to ensure it gets back in time to be counted. If it’s getting later in the month you can also drop your ballot off (bring your ID) at a drop box in your county. Also you can bring it to a polling place (with your ID).
www.VOTE411.org has all the info you will need on the right kinds of ID, sample ballots, polling locations, and more. Rev Up Texas has great info too and questionnaires and interviews with the candidates that were willing to be interviewed. They also have some great videos, captioned and audio described too.
click here for Linda Mae Says VoteDiversify Austin Job & Resource Virtual Fair
The Center for Disability Studies at The University of Texas at Austin and Amerigroup is hosting the 2nd annual Diversify Austin Job & Resource Fair on Wednesday 10/21/2020 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. This event will be virtual and open to the public. Join us for an exciting Zoom Panel where you will discover local resources and meet potential employers. Please have the attendee register To Register Click Here.
Let’s Celebrate National Disability Awareness Month and explore your opportunities!
For ASL and captioning accommodations, please email tcdsut@gmail.com
Free In-Home COVID-19 Testing Available for People with Mobility Issues and Disabilities
Are you unable to leave your home to visit a COVID-19 test site? In-home testing is available for those considered high-risk of developing severe illness with COVID-19 without transportation, or who have a mobility impairment or other disabilities.
To schedule free In Home test, call Austin Public Health at 512-972-5560 to schedule an appointment today.
Schedule a test if you can’t leave your home due to:
- Mobility impairments
- no transportation
- underlying health issues.
AustinTexas.gov/COVID19
PROTEST LACK OF HELP FOR COMMUNITY DISABILITY SERVICES AND SUPPORTS
ADAPT of Texas joined ADAPT folk from 30 other groups/city around the nation Friday, October 2nd this afternoon to protest the Congress’ failure to include Home and Community Based Services in any of the CORONO Virus Relief packages. Specifically we were protesting Senator Cornyn’s failure to support so far, so we went to his office (221 West 6th Street Austin) to demand Senator Cornyn support Health Care and Home and Community Based Services for Texans with Disabilities.
You can watch the hearing on ADAPT National’s website.
In addition, the night before ADAPT folks were outside the US Capitol in the pouring rain doing a vigil and Congress woman Cortez (AOC) stopped by to visit and posted this video of the group!
ADAPT of Texas DEMANDS:
SUPPORT THE COVID 19 SUPPORT PACKAGE (HERO’s Act) THAT INCLUDES: funding for HCBS, PPE’s, Community Attendants and housing supports;
Make the MONEY FOLLOWS THE PERSON a Permanent Program;
Support the Affordable Care Act and delay the Supreme Court appointment so the winner of the election can make the selection;
Meet with ADAPT of Texas members to discuss the above demands.
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As part of our protest, we were joined in with other ADAPT folks from around the nation, including a delegation who traveled to Washington DC to carry our message in person. We joined up via the internet, Zoom and Facebook for a People’s Hearing on
30 years after the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Disabled Americans who need long term services and supports continue to be forced into unwanted institutionalization where they are stripped of their personal liberties. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, institutionalized people have been on the front line of casualties with massive loss of life happening behind the walls of institutions.
Far from inevitable, these peoples’ deaths were completely avoidable. People living in their own homes and controlling the services and supports that come into their homes including who comes in and out of their homes, how the people coming into their homes conduct themselves, and what types of precautions they use, are living while people with the same level of disability in institutions die.
Congress has the power to keep people safe and move people out of harm’s way by supporting home and community based services. ADAPT Calls on the United States Senate to take up the House HEROES Act a deliver REAL RELIEF to our states and people who are all suffering under the weight of pandemic.
Supporting home and community based services as part of COVID-19 relief includes:
▪ Funding for personal protective equipment for people receiving services in their homes and communities and the people helping them remain in their own homes
- Funding for worker hazard, retention, and overtime pay.
▪ Help with funds to retain or obtain housing, including eviction and foreclosure protections and funds to stabilize markets and help people address payment concerns.
▪ Financial support for states so they can maintain and enhance community-based services, holding them harmless from the economic consequences associated with the pandemic.
Support for the Affordable Care Act, including Medicaid and Medicaid Expansion are critical to maintaining the health, well-being and community choice for hundreds of thousands of aging and disabled people. Any effort to erode support for the availability of health insurance coverage, including the Appointment of anti-ACA Justices to the Supreme Court, should be rebuffed.
CENSUS DEADLINE EXTENDED TO END OF OCTOBER
Due to a recent court ruling there is a little more time to fill out the census. Now you have until the end of October. Take advantage! Fill it out.
HAVE YOU FILLED OUT THE CENSUS? Sept 30th is the deadline; YOU HAVE ONE WEEK!
This is a really big deal, nerdy as it might sound. Filling out the census takes 5 minutes or less. The census is what the feds use to count population to figure out how much money states, cities, etc. get for things like public transportation, public health care, community development (like sidewalk $ and more), education, roads, job training, school lunches and much more. Over $400 Billion is spent on local communities by the numbers from the census. It also helps design districts for US Congress reps and state legislative representatives and senators.
Go to my2020census.gov to respond online,
By phone:
- English (for 50 states and Washington, D.C.): 844-330-2020
- Spanish (for 50 states and Washington, D.C.): 844-468-2020
- TDD (Telephone Display Device): 844-467-2020
- https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-phone.html has more phone numbers for other languages.
Or mail. Go here for more details https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-mail.html
Some people don’t really want you to be counted, which should make you want to be counted even MORE! Because you do count, but not if you let them stop you.
Here’s a little soap opera, Counting All My Children, that Rev Up made to encourage you to fill the Census out (Notice any actors you know?):
BUT WHATEVER YOU DO, YOU HAVE ONE WEEK TO DO THIS IMPORTANT JOB!
October 5th last day to register to vote in Nov 3rd Election
September 22 was national voter registration day and Rev Up held a live online event to share information on registering and voting. Below is a link to the edited version of the REV UP Texas Natl Voter Registration Day event. (The link is also on the REV UP Texas website.) Click this link to see the event which is about 30 mins.
REVUP Texas: What You Need to Know to Vote
Remember October 5th is the last day to Register you want to vote on Nov 3rd.
People went to jail and even died for your right to vote, so use it. If you aren’t already registered, step one is to register, and you can do that easily via Register2Vote.org Go to the site, fill out the form, they send you a registration card that is properly addressed and filled in. All you have to do is sign it and drop the postage paid form in the mail. Do it soon because time is running out.
Rev Up Texas website has information for voters with disabilities, including an accessible video interview with US Senate candidate MJ Hegar. Incumbent candidate Cornyn has been asked numerous times for an interview and if he ever responds they will post his interview as well (if you are a Cornyn supporter you can help by giving him a nudge, cause he has ignored all requests so far.) They have lots of great videos on the site and tons of good information. Check it out!!! Questions? You can contact them at: revuptx@gmail.com 512-431-4085
Monday October 5, 2020 is the deadline to register in Texas.
Early in person voting starts 10/13/20 and goes until 10/30/20. To find a location near you the Secretary of State has a site VoteTexas.gov that will tell you where to vote closer to the election day.
Or go to your county clerk’s or election website. If you’re not from one of the places listed below just googling your county’s name elections should take you to the right place:
Fort Worth & Arlington San Antonio
Hildalgo County Corpus Christi
Many of these sites will let you check if you are still registered, see a sample ballot and much more. The Texas League of Women Voters also has tons of good information on races, voting, and much more including info for voters with disabilities!
This year, 2020, is the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote.