skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Iowans with Disabilities Encouraged to Register to Vote

play audio
Play

Wednesday, July 13, 2016   

DES MOINES, Iowa - To improve voter turnout among people with disabilities, the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council says people should get registered now, during National Disability Voter Registration Week.

The voter turnout rate in the 2012 presidential election was more than 6 percent lower among people with disabilities than for the general population in Iowa, according to a Rutgers University study. Rik Shannon, project manager for the group Iowans with Disabilities in Action, said that, this year, that can change.

"This is an opportunity to begin addressing that disparity," he said. "As we know, people aren't able to vote if they're not registered to vote. So, this is a first step toward ensuring that people with disabilities turn out to the polls in November."

Voter registration applications can be found online at sos.iowa.gov, at county auditors' offices, driver's license stations, Department of Human Services offices and other state agencies serving people with disabilities.

Even though there are alternatives to registering early online or by mail, Shannon said, it's better to take care of it now.

"In Iowa, we even allow same-day voter registration, meaning you can register at the polling place, although that does introduce a few additional complications, when it comes to proving who you are and where you live," he said. "So, we really encourage people to get registered early."

While this election year is largely about voting for a new president, he said, other important issues are at stake for people with disabilities.

"There certainly is interest in publicly funded programs that often support people with disabilities to live independently," he said.

Registered voters who have moved since the last election will need to fill out a new voter registration form to be eligible in November. For questions about people with disabilities and voter registration, look online at IDaction.org.

More information about National Disability Voter Registration Week is online at disability.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021