The Disability Voice in American Politics

Abstract

The health of a democracy depends on citizen involvement in political life. Unfortunately, not all citizens have an equal voice in American governance. Previous research has demonstrated that individual factors such as higher levels of educational attainment and income (as well as institutional factors and political context) are associated with higher levels of participation, but extant research does not consider the role of disability in affecting participation. The research reported here indicates that registration and voting rates among individuals with disabilities are well below those of nondisabled people. Further, people with disabilities are much less likely to vote as they age—unlike nondisabled individuals, who are much more likely to vote over the lifespan. These results suggest that people with disabilities are a pivotal test of the generalizability of current knowledge regarding why Americans do and do not participate in political life.