LRS launches online voter education tutorial

People with disabilities can learn about the importance of their right to vote and how the voting process works by taking LRS' latest online tutorial, Project Vote Online Voter Education Tool Kit. This self-paced online training program provides people with disabilities the information they need to exercise their right to vote. Before launching the tutorial, LRS worked with ELP Consulting and People First of Ohio to identify people with various types of disabilities to test the tutorial. Nine people conducted reviews to make sure the information was easy to understand and the tutorial was accessible. LRS appreciates the valuable feedback provided by these individuals.

Topics covered in the Project Vote tutorial include:

• How voting fits into a person's life.
• How to register to vote, including a step-by-step process of how to complete a registration form.
• How to learn about candidates and issues.
• How to vote, including different types of voting machines and how to vote early.
• Information about voting rights and how to overcome barriers to voting.
• How to become involved and educate others about their voting rights.

The tutorial includes a downloadable Workbook for people to use to complete exercises and take notes.

About Project Vote

The information for this online Tool Kit was adapted from the Project Vote Voter Education Tool Kit created by the National Center for Self Determination & 21st Century Leadership; Moore Advocacy Consulting; Oklahoma People First, RRTC on Aging and Developmental Disabilities University of Illinois at Chicago; Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (S.A.B.E.). The two-day, interactive training was designed by people with cognitive disabilities to teach people with disabilities about their voting rights and to empower them to become Project Vote trainers.

Permission to use the Project Vote materials was granted by The National Technical Assistance Center for Voting and Cognitive Access. Funding for the Project Vote Voter Education Tool Kit was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children and Families, Administration on Developmental Disabilities under a grant from the Help America Vote Act.

LRS' Online Learning Center

The Online Voter Education Tool Kit is found at LRS' Online Learning Center. Other tutorials available are "Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System" which provides information for those working with students with disabilities in the juvenile justice system and "Work Incentives Seminar Event (WISE)" which provides information for Social Security beneficiaries who want to return to work.

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