"My Voice Counts, Too": Voting Participation Among People with Intellectual Disability in Wyoming - Study of Individuals

2017

Sandra Root-Elledge
[email protected]
307-766-2764

Despite a strong societal commitment to ensuring that individuals with intellectual disability fully participate in their communities, few people with intellectual disability vote. Little is known about voting experiences from the perspective of people with intellectual disability. Inperson, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 adults with intellectual disability (Mage = 37 years) to obtain their input on voting. Constant comparison and content analysis methods were used to characterize themes. Results indicated that people with intellectual disability are interested in voting and desire to be included in the voting process yet receive little education on political issues or how to make voting-related decisions. Support from family or service providers and self-advocacy facilitated their ability to vote. Implications of these findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Voting, Support, Intellectual Disability

Peer-reviewed publications in scholarly journals submitted

Consumers/Families, Professionals, Policymakers

N/A