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PUBLIC POLICY FOR THE PEOPLERegister! Educate! Vote!Use Your Power! Makingthe Disability Vote Countby Hanna Rosenfeld, GCDD Planning & Policy Development SpecialistOnly 65.9% of Georgians are registered to vote.Out of the approximately 10.5 million people that call our statehome, only about 6.9 million are registered to vote. Which meansthere are around 3.5 million Georgians going about their dailylives, unregistered to vote. Abysmal if you ask me. While someof the 3.5 million are ineligible to vote due to age, legal status,residency status or past convictions, quite a number are eligible tovote in our state. That means we have a lot of work to do.Undoubtedly, voting is the bedrockof our society. While we coulddebate the merits of requiring votersto pre-register, the reality is thatin order to vote in Georgia, youmust be registered to vote.Registering to vote is the very firsthurdle each of us must face when itcomes to voting. There are a varietyof reasons people don’t end upvoting on election day, from lack ofchildcare to lack of transportation,but don’t let registration be thebarrier stopping you from voting.Chances are you know one ofthose 3.5 million Georgians whoare not registered to vote. Makea point of asking your friendsand family if they are registered.With National Disability VoterRegistration Week occurring fromJuly 15 to 19, the time to register is6now. Chances are you know one ofthose 3.5 million Georgians whoare not registered to vote. Make apoint of asking your friends andfamily if they are registered to vote.It is so easy to do. All you have todo is visit the Georgia Secretary ofState’s “My Voter Page” website.Even if you think you areregistered, it is always a goodidea to double check well inadvance of election day. In theprocess of writing this article,I discovered I was no longerregistered to vote. Because I hadrecently moved to a differentcounty, I needed to update myvoter registration. Let this be areminder that anyone, includingthe person charged with writingan article about voting inGeorgia, can forget to changetheir address. Even if you thinkyou are registered to vote, makea point of double checking thateverything is good to go.MAKING A DIFFERENCE MAGAZINEOnce you are registered, the nextcrucial step occurs when youactually cast your ballot. For someof us, that can be rather tricky.We might have to ensure we havesuitable identification or findaccessible transportationGCDD’S PUBLICto reach our pollingPOLICY TEAMlocation. Sometimesthe hurdles to vote canfeel overwhelming. It isimperative that we eachkeep working to ensureeach and every eligiblevoter is registered andcasts their ballot onelection day.Casting your ballot isDAWN ALFORD, GCDDessential. Registering toPublic Policy Directorvote is no good unlessyou cast your ballot for acandidate. If we want ourleaders to pay attention tous, they must know thatthe disability communityis a community of voters.Some of us may nothave deep pockets tomake large campaigncontributions, but we allHANNA ROSENFELD,have the ability to castGCDD Planning anda ballot. True, moneyPolicy DevelopmentSpecialistoften means power.However, when we allband together to cast our ballots, weamplify our power and impact.

While we may not be electing anew US president any time soon, agreat number of local elections willbe occurring across our state in thecoming year. In some ways, localelections are even more importantbecause your ability to impact theresult is magnified. Point of fact,the very first election I voted in wasdecided by only 90 votes. Out of theover 40,000 people that cast theirballots that day, it was 90 peoplewho really made the difference.Some people think that just onevote has no value. They are wrong.Polling and predictions only get youso far. Until the votes roll in, thereis no foolproof way to know whatthe margin of victory or defeat willbe. Ninety votes were all it took thatday in Cobb County. Will you bethe next 90? I sure hope so.Let us be clear. I don’t care who youvote for. The Georgia Council onDevelopmental Disabilities doesnot care who you vote for. We justcare that you vote. Disability activistJustin Dart once said, “Vote as ifyour life depends on it, because itdoes.” As members of the disabilitycommunity, we should all be acutelyaware of the impact governmenthas on our lives. From Medicaidto Social Security, governmentprograms are often a key part ofattaining a life well lived in thecommunity. We have no excusefor failing to vote in everyelection we are qualified tovote in. If we don’t vote, then wehave no control over the decisionsour leaders might make and howthat might impact our very lives.No candidate or political party hasthe market cornered on disabilityissues. In many cases, candidatesdon’t even have a stance on issuesimportant to our community. Ifwe start showing up to vote inlarge numbers, you bet your bootscandidates will start learning aboutour community and the issues wecare about. And if no candidatespeaks your truth, consider runningfor office yourself – local offices likecity council, school board, countycommissioner or even the StateHouse are incredibly achievable.If running for office is somethingthat appeals to you, be sure tocheck out the National Councilon Independent Living’s recentlyarchived series of webinars,“Elevate: Campaign Training forPeople with Disabilities.”What’s Happeningin GeorgiaWhile it’s off season, manyindividuals are announcingtheir candidacies for the 2020election from city councils tostate legislators to commissioners.Also, the Georgia House ofRepresentatives and GeorgiaCASTING YOUR BALLOT IS ESSENTIAL.REGISTERING TO VOTE IS NO GOODUNLESS YOU CAST YOURBALLOT FOR A CANDIDATE.State Senate will hold elections,including federal seats forthe US Senate and House ofRepresentatives in 2020. TheAtlanta Journal-Constitutionprovided a latest update on who isseeking office next year, with manymore to be added to the ticket.To know who might be running foryour district, city council, schoolboard or other local, state andfederal offices, engage with yourlocal newspapers or news stationsor resources like Open States orBallotpedia.SENATESEATSHOUSESEATSUS CONGRESS:468 SEATS UPFOR ELECTIONIN 2020SUMMER 20197

PUBLIC POLICY FOR THE PEOPLEVoting SystemChanges in GeorgiaRecently, Governor Kemp signedHouse Bill 316 into law. Passed bya 101 yea/69 nay in the House and35 yea/1 nay in the Senate, HB 316makes changes to Georgia’s voterregistration and voting system.Undoubtedly, the most notablechange for most voters will beGeorgia’s new in-person votingmachines. While there is still agreat deal that must be decided,HB 316 calls for Georgia to adoptnew voting machines.AS MEMBERS OF THE DISABILITYCOMMUNITY, WE SHOULD ALL BEACUTELY AWARE OF THE IMPACTGOVERNMENT HASON OUR LIVES.Many of you will be familiar withthe electronic touch screen votingmachines we have had for thepast two decades. HB 316 callsfor the adoption of electronicballot markers, defined as “anelectronic device that does notcompute or retain votes; mayintegrate components such asa ballot scanner, printer, touchscreen monitor, audio outputand a navigational keypad; anduses electronic technology toindependently and privately marka paper ballot at the direction of anelector, interpret ballot selections,communicate such interpretationfor elector verification and print anelector verifiable paper ballot.”whereby after selecting your vote,you receive a printed receipt. In thepast, you simply clicked submit andhanded back the electronic card.Still, there is a lot we do not knowat this time. Georgia’s Secretaryof State, Brad Raffensperger, hasissued an RFP (i.e., request forproposals) to solicit applicationsfrom six companies to supplyGeorgia with our new system. Untilthe company is selected, we won’ttruly know what our new systemwill look like.Moreover, the process by whichregistered voters are removed fromthe voter rolls has been updated,likely for the better. While in thepast a voter was removed afterthree years of inactivity, voterswill now be removed afterfive years of inactivity. Thisis significant because there area great deal of misguided votersin Georgia that only vote inthe presidential election. Sincepresidential elections come aroundevery four years, such voters in thepast may have found themselvesremoved from the voter registrationrolls. Of note, inactivity is definedas failing to file an updated voterregistration card, failing to filea change of name or address,not signing a petition which isrequired by law to be verified bythe election superintendent orSecretary of State, not signing avoter certificate, failing to apply orvote absentee and failing to confirma continuation of address notice.To the voter, the most obviouschange will be the final step8MAKING A DIFFERENCE MAGAZINEAnother key change is thereduction of voting machines perperson. Previously, one machinewas required for every 200 voters.HB 316 has changed this to onemachine for every 250 voters.This is significant, as this couldlead to longer lines at the polls.Only time will tell if the newmachines move people throughfast enough to accommodate thereduction of machines.Additionally, restrictions for closingor changing polling locations havebeen implemented. Indeed, within60 days of a general primary,general election or generalelection runoff, no changesmay be made to a pollinglocation. In the case of a specialprimary, special election or specialelection runoff, HB 316 restrictschanges up to 30 days in advance ofthe election.Importantly, the requirementthat all polling locations beaccessible to voters withdisabilities has not changed inany way. Still, we know thatthere exist polling locations inGeorgia that are not accessible.Should any of us encountera polling location that is notaccessible, it is our duty toreport that location to yourlocal board of elections, to theSecretary of State’s Office andto the GeorgiaAdvocacyOffice.HB 316 REQUIRES 1 MACHINEFOR EVERY 250 VOTERS.PREVIOUSLY, ONE MACHINE WASREQUIRED FOR EVERY 200 VOTERS.

UPCOMINGEVENTSPUBLIC POLICYCALENDAR:JULY 15 - 19, 2019 ISNATIONAL DISABILITYVOTER REGISTRATION WEEKWHAT YOU CAN DO TO CELEBRATE:4 July 15-19, 2019:National Disability VoterRegistration Week4 October 2019: Take YourLegislator to Work Day4 January 13, 2020:First Day of the 2020Legislative Session4 2020 Advocacy Days:January 29, February 11,February 20, February 27,March 11 REGISTER TO VOTE. CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION STATUS. ASK 10 FRIENDS TO REGISTER TO VOTE. MAKE SURE YOUR POLLING LOCATION ISACCESSIBLE. FIND OUT WHO IS RUNNING FOR OFFICEin your district, city council, school board orother local, state and federal positions. CONSIDER RUNNING FOR OFFICE. CAST YOUR BALLOT ON ELECTION DAY!SPECIAL ELECTION:ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS –SCHOOL BOARD4 September 17, 2019:Election Day4 October 15, 2019: RunoffResources for What’s Happening in Washington? Money Follows the Person and advocacy around the EMPOWER Care Act Status of the proposed Disability Integration Act (DIA) Status of implementation in Georgia of the Home and CommunityBased Services (HCBS) Settings Rule Texas v. U.S. and other attacks on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Proposed Rollback of Nondiscrimination Protections under the ACA’sSection 1557JOIN THE FIGHT TO PROTECT MEDICAID!SUMMER 20199

It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane!It’s Team Supreme!by Jennifer Bosk& Devikain collab Raoorationwith TimOrffWhile Superman is busy fighting for truth and justice andBatman once again faces the Joker, there’s a whole new teamof superheroes who are taking the universe by storm. Meet TeamSupreme, a troupe of kids with disabilities who have superpowers,allowing them to make the world a better place.can show them via a creative way ofteaching, they’ll understand better,”Leonard adds, who was trainedat the Art Institute of Atlanta inmedia arts and animation.And he hopes Team Supreme doesjust that.Team Supreme includes:lZeek, 11 years old with autism,his super-human brain powerdespite his debilitating depression.His mission is for greatnessdelivered through his children.Sweet Pea, 8, Zeek’s sisterThe Journey toTeam Supremewho uses his extreme memoryand intellect to solve puzzles;lwho is diagnosed with sicklecell. Her superpower is herloving and giving heart;lMech, 12, diagnosed withspina bifida and incredible withhis hands, allowing him to buildgadgets and code computersystems;llLi, 12, is blind and uses herenhanced senses of hearingand smell that allow her to findpeople and places; andThumper, 7, is deaf, andhis superpower allows him tosee through sound and haveenhanced peripheral vision.The team is led by Dr. Jackson,their adoptive father who utilizes10Developed and created by Atlantabased artist and animator, JoshuaLeonard, 35, Team Supremebecame an answer to a problemin mainstream media. Growingup, every time Leonard saw asuperhero in the media, it was the,“same old, big, guy with muscles. Iwas so tired of them all looking thesame,” Leonard explains.So, he set out to create superheroesfor his team which included boysand girls with all skin tones andwith all types of abilities anddisabilities. “I believe we needmore representation of people withdisabilities in the arts to teachpeople that different is good. If IMAKING A DIFFERENCE MAGAZINE“I want this to reach the masses andteach the masses. The goal is to notonly show these specific charactersin the light, but also to make a fun,cool type of cartoon that everyonewill love,” Leonard explains.He has worked at Home Depot forthe past 14 years, and it was therehe met a co-worker who has a sonon the autism spectrum.“He is so smart,” Leonard says.“He knows the definitions ofeverything, can talk numbers, sports anything.” The son became theinspiration for Team Supreme’s Zeek.He dove more deeply into his artto help him cope when his bestfriend was murdered in 2008. TeamSupreme’s Dr. Jackson is based onthis friend.I believewe needmorerepresentation ofpeoplewith disabilities intarts to teach peop hele thatdifferentis good.

The Bigger PictureSome mainstream superheroesare individuals with disabilities:Marvel’s Daredevil, attorney MattMurdock, blinded in a childhoodaccident, uses his heightened radarsense to fight crime; Hawkeye,who became deaf saving all ofNew York’s superheroes, useshis enhanced marksmanshipand intellect as a member of theAvengers; and Professor CharlesXavier, (Professor X), a geneticistwho uses a wheelchair and leads theX-Men, just to name a few.But representation of people withdisabilities in the media overall isgrowing glacially. A March 2019report by The Ford Foundationcalled the “Road Map for Inclusion:Changing The Face of DisabilityIn Media” detailed how few peoplewith disabilities are seen in moviesand on TV.The report cites GLAAD’sWhere We Are on TV ’18-’19report that states:“Only 2.1% of primetime broadcastTV series regulars – or a total of16 characters – have disabilities. Arecent Annenberg study found that,across the 100 top-grossing movies of2016, only 2.7% of characters weredepicted with a disability, only 2.5%of characters were depicted with adisability over the past 10 years, andnearly half of the films across the top100 did not include a single characterwith a disability.”While progress is slow, there aresmall positive changes to the mediaFollow along on TeamSupreme’s and Leonard’sadventures on his LeonardStudios website and seethese stories evolve.landscape. A newcrop of shows likeABC’s “Speechless”(now canceled) orNetflix’s “Special”are not only focusing on positive,everyday lives of people withdisabilities, but also casting peoplewith disabilities to play the part.At the time of this writing, CBSEntertainment released newspledging its role to improvedisability inclusion in Hollywood,according to an exclusive report byThe Hollywood Reporter.According to the article, thecompany pledged to “auditionactors with disabilities for each newproduction going forward. CBSwill now do so for each of its newprojects that gets a series.”The pledge came on the heelsof a report by the RudermanFamily Foundation that stated, “55million Americans (about 20% ofthe population) have disabilities,but fewer than 2% of televisioncharacters do. And of thosecharacters, 95% are played by ablebodied actors.”The network became the firststudio in the industry to make thispledge to increase representation ofpeople with disabilities on its showsthrough its audition processes.The Power of GiftsIt is important to add that TeamSupreme is not depictingpeople withdisabilities to be superheroes intheir everyday life. In other words,it is not pushing the trope or clichéthat by doing everyday things likegoing to work or school, spendingtime with family and friends is byany means “extraordinary.”DISABILITY INCLUSION IN MEDIA20%of populationhave disabilities% 2of TV charactershave disabilitiesTeam Supreme adds to the genreabout everyday people who livewith secret superpowers or talentand gifts to do good in theircommunities and around the world– like Peter Parker’s Spidermanwho has the spider-like abilityto cast webs and helps to fightscrime in New York; or MayaLopez’s Echo, one of the very fewdeaf superheroes, who usesher talents of photographicreflexes and memory tofight evil alongsideDaredevil, theAvengers and NewAvengers.LiZeekSweetPeaGeneral PopulationDr.JacksonMechThumperSUMMER 201911

Leonard envisions that TeamSupreme will use its collectivepower and gifts to make theworld a better place by fightingbullying and other issues thatall people struggle with today,including children with disabilities.The team of superheroes wouldpromote a world of acceptance,inclusion and self-love.ions thatsivnedrLeonaill use itswemerpsTeam Sur and giftewopevcollectithe worldto makelace.a better pThe Supreme ImpactAs Leonard continues to create anddraw Team Supreme’s superheroes,he consults with other friendsand medical professionals aboutdisabilities and medical differencesto incorporate into his characters.He did a lot of research to getthe information he shares, via thesuperheroes, correct.He is also currently developinga grade school curriculum, basedon Team Supreme, to help teach12children about diversity andinclusion. Using short, animatedfilms about the pint-sizedsuperheroes, Leonard also hopesto explain the importance of aninclusive community.He shares his art knowledge andskills by speaking to studentspursuing arts education. Mostrecently, he led a character designworkshop for students at KennesawState University and taught ananimation and character designlesson to students at CumberlandAcademy of Georgia: AutismSchool Atlanta.“The best part of all of this is thekids’ reactions,” says Leonard.He shares about a young boynamed Jaiden with autism. Hismother, Shekira, made him a TeamSupreme “Zeek” costume and whenJaiden puts it on, he becomes moreoutgoing and more confident, evendancing in crowds.And there are plans for TeamSupreme to grow. There arenumerous other characterson the team and Leonardintends to add individuals withDown syndrome and otherintellectual, developmentaland medical differences.His plan is for Team Supreme tohit the big time – possibly Netflix,MAKING A DIFFERENCE MAGAZINEI want kids to seethemselves in thesecharacters and to believein themselves.Disney or another streamingservice – within the next two years.Leonard is working with EmmyAward-winning writer, creator andactress Lena

Atlanta's Own Caped Crusader. by Jennifer Bosk . Donning a supersuit, cape, gloves and mask, Betsy Goodrich of Lilburn, GA embraces her . alter-ego, "Danger Woman," who has become Atlanta's very own superhero fighting for disability civil rights. Making. Difference. A quarterly digital magazine from GCDD