Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-19-26 Correspondence - Disability Rights Montana - Growth Rings - What About Everyone Else_From:Disability Rights Montana - Growth Rings To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]What About Everyone Else? Date:Monday, October 19, 2026 12:03:02 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Every paid subscription supports Disability Rights Montana’s work across Montana. Federal funding is nowhere near sufficient to meet the advocacy and culture change work that is needed. You can help fund the future you want to see! What About Everyone Else? A visit to a Glendive nursing home revealed an invisible barrier forpeople with disabilities. READ IN APP OCT 19 David standing in front of a sunset in Glendive Last week, our new advocacy director and I were in Glendive conducting a monitoring visit at a nursing home, part of our federally mandated work to monitor conditions and possible rights violations in facilities serving Montanans with disabilities. When we asked how the facility assisted residents with voting, staff explained their plan to help one resident vote in the upcoming election. Then we asked a simple question: What about everyone else? Not just the resident who had already expressed interest. What about the residents who might want to vote if someone explained how voting works in a nursing home? The residents who are new to not driving and aren’t sure how they would get to a polling place. The residents who no longer receive election mail at their former address and missed the voter pamphlet, candidate information, and election reminders. The residents who may not realize they need to update their voter registration after moving into a facility. As we talked, staff realized they didn’t have a general plan. They had a plan for a single person. They didn’t yet have a plan for broader civic participation. The good news is that by the end of the conversation, they were discussing how they would contact the local election office and build a system that would work for every resident who wanted to vote. That conversation stuck with me because it points to something bigger. In disability services, families and providers spend a lot of time making sure people get the support they need. We make plans for meals. We make plans for medications. We make plans for transportation, appointments, and daily activities. Nobody would say, “We’ll wait until lunchtime and see if residents need help figuring out what or how to eat.” Nobody would say, “We’ll wait until the doctor appointment starts and see if transportation works itself out.” We understand that participation requires planning. That is, after all, why so much money is spent every day providing supports. If someone needs support every day, they will probably need support on Election Day. But somehow, voting is often treated as different. Not because elections don’t impact disabled people. Not because people with disabilities don’t care about elections. Not because they don’t have opinions. Not because they don’t want their voices heard. Sometimes it is simply because nobody asked whether they had a plan. The biggest barrier to voting is often not opposition. It’s omission. This spring, Disability Rights Montana released a report, The Most Powerful Right, examining barriers that many Montanans with disabilities encounter when trying to vote, particularly those living in residential settings. The barriers are often surprisingly ordinary. They can result from a missed conversation, a lack of transportation, uncertainty about what assistance is permitted, or the assumption that someone else is handling it. And what do we do when we assume? Read "The Most Powerful Right" When a person misses a meal, we notice. When a person misses a medical appointment, we notice. When a person misses an election, it is often invisible. But the loss is real. Rights do not enforce themselves. Accessibility does not happen automatically. If someone needs support to exercise a fundamental right and nobody takes responsibility for helping them access that right, exclusion can occur even when no one intended it. In my view, that creates a responsibility for all of us. Families, providers, election officials, advocates, and community members all have a role to play. When someone needs support to participate in civic life, failing to provide that support is more than an oversight. It is a failure of inclusion. For people with disabilities, especially those who live in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes, or other residential settings, participation often depends on whether the people around them have taken the time to ask a simple question: Do you want to vote, and if so, how can I support you in voting? Of course, asking the question is only the first step. People also need good information about how voting works and what supports are available. That’s why Disability Rights Montana created the Montana Disability Voter Guide. The guide answers practical questions about voter registration, absentee voting, updating your address after a move, accessible voting options, and the rights of voters with disabilities. Whether you are a voter, a family member, a direct support professional, a facility administrator, or an election official, the guide can help you turn good intentions into a workable plan. And it is the only voter guide out there that lets you see how candidates responded to questions created by Montana’s disability community. So, use the guide today to see what the people asking for your vote think about the issues most important to disabled Montanans. One of the lessons from Glendive was that people often want to do the right Need Help Making a Voting Plan? thing. They simply aren’t always sure what the right thing is. Information turns good intentions into action. Read the Montana Disability Voter Guide Voting is one way to make your voice heard, but it is far from the only one. This Wednesday, the Collective Disruption coalition (of which DRMT is a member) will host a training on grassroots advocacy and organizing for people with disabilities and their allies who want to create change in their communities. During the session, we’ll explore: How people with disabilities and allies can build grassroots power in Montana. The difference between self-advocacy and grassroots organizing. Lessons from key moments in the disability rights movement. How to identify your own advocacy style and strengths. Practical ways to influence decision-makers, from contacting elected officials and sharing your story to organizing alongside others. Six principles for effective advocacy. How people with disabilities can help shape the future of disability rights in Montana. The right to vote matters. But democracy depends on more than what happens on Election Day. It depends on people speaking up, organizing together, and helping build communities where everyone’s voice counts. If you’ve ever wondered how to move from caring about an issue to creating change around it, this training is for you. Register for the session that works best for your schedule Voting Is Advocacy. But It Shouldn’t Stop There. Oct 21, 11:00 AM Oct 21, 6:00 PM (the training is the same at each session, so you only need to attend one) There is still time to ask about your disabled family and friends’ voting plans. If you work in a residential setting, make sure you affirmatively ask residents if they want to vote and what help they need, then work on a plan for every resident who wants to participate. If you work in an election office, reach out to facilities in your community and make sure they know what resources are available. If you have a friend or family member with a disability, especially someone living in a nursing home or assisted living facility, stop by for a visit or give them a call. Ask about their voting plan the same way you would ask about their health, transportation, or other daily needs. In a democracy, our political voice is one of the defining expressions of personhood. We should not deny people that dignity, agency, and citizenship simply because they need support completing daily activities. Check in with a friend. Visit a family member. Ask a resident. Call a provider. Reach out to your election office. Ask a simple question: “Do you have a plan to vote?” Because supporting someone to exercise their rights should be just as ordinary as supporting them to exercise every other part of their life. Needing support should never cost someone one of the core expressions of There Is Still Time citizenship: having their voice heard. In solidarity, David David Carlson, J.D. Executive Director Disability Rights Montana You’re currently a free subscriber to Life Beyond Compliance. Upgrading to paid subscriptions supports Disability Rights Montana’s work across Montana. Federal funding is no where near sufficient to meet the advocacy and culture change work that is needed. You can help fund the future you want to see! Upgrade to paid LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Disability Rights Montana1022 Chestnut Street, Helena, MT 59601 Unsubscribe