Historically speaking, presidential candidates have rarely put focus on disability rights as a part of their platforms. According to the U.S Census Bureau (2012), it is estimated that nearly 1 in 5 Americans have a disability. That means there are over 56 million individuals with disabilities in the United States capable of making an educated vote during this upcoming presidential election. According to a Research Alliance for Accessible Voting survey report (2013), only 15.6 million individuals with disabilities voted in the last election, a number that will hopefully increase with proper resources and educational information regarding each presidential candidate's take on disabilities. While candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have included disabilities in their official platforms, the rest of the candidates have not released official plans or statements that address the disability community as a whole. We have put together a brief overview of the candidates running in the 2016 presidential election, focusing specifically on their take on disabilities, including past experiences and documented quotes. We hope this will be a useful resource for you in order to make an educated vote in the upcoming election. With each vote, we can work one step closer to ensuring that individuals with disabilities are no longer neglected in the political platforms of our nation's future leaders.

Hillary Clinton

Bernie Sanders

Donald Trump

Ted Cruz

John Kasich

When Larry McDowell went to Affordable Dentures in West Palm Beach, Florida, to have a dental procedure on March 17^th, there was no reason that he could possibly believe that he wouldn't be able to get the same services as anybody else. But once Mr. McDowell reached the front desk, he was directed to follow someone to the examination room. Mr. McDowell then said, "I'm blind, could you help to where I'm going?" The employee at the desk said nothing. Once a member of the office staff arrived, Mr. McDowell asked for assistance to the examination room - Mr. McDowell asked to hold her elbow.

 

She said, "No. We can't help you unless you have someone to help you. We can't treat you unless you bring someone to assist you." Mr. McDowell then asked to speak to the dentist. When Mr. McDowell asked where the dentist was, the employee replied that he was in surgery and would be there for the next two hours. A patient who was watching the interaction told Mr. McDowell, "No he's not. He's standing right there." After the patient's remark, the employee said to Mr. McDowell, "The dentist doesn't want to speak to you today."