A Disabled Guide to the 2020 Election

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Image Courtesy of JAMA Forum


As a disabled voter, one of the issues that I have always cared about is disability rights.   For several election cycles, this issue was not very present.  This year, however, it seems to be an ever increasing big ticket item.  This post is going to be a comprehensive guide on every candidate in the race as of the beginning of July, and their viewpoints on Disability Rights.  My hope for this post is to inform those who also consider disability rights close to their hearts, who may not be aware that some 2020 candidates have plans in place to improve this rights issue.


Because it is the shortest list of only two candidates, I am going to start with the Republican party.


Donald Trump:  Donald Trump is the current president of the United States.  He is running for re-election in 2020.  A lot can be said about his presidency, however, this post will only focus on how he currently feels about disability rights issues.  According to www.issues2000.org, Trump stated in 2015 that "[he is ] for vaccines, but only in small quantities to avoid Autism."  This is a huge debate among the able-bodied community and the disabled communities.  Due to a fraudulent study, it has long been falsely believed that vaccines cause Autism, a statement that has since been debunked by many peer-reviewed studies since.   He has also stated that he supports insurance coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.  People with disabilities fall under this umbrella.  He has somewhat changed this position a few times in his presidency, so it is unclear as to where he stands at this second.

William Weld:  William Weld was the governor of Massachusetts in the 1990s, as well as the Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division in the 1980s.  While he has never outwardly spoken about disability rights issues, he has states support for Obamacare and Social Security benefits for people with disabilities (www.ontheissues.org).


Now for the many Democrats in the race.  Eric Swalwell will not be mentioned in this section, because as of earlier this week, he is no longer running for president.


Michael Bennet: Michael Bennet is an incumbent United States senator for Colorado.  Similarly to William Weld, Michael Bennet has yet to explicitly mention disability rights in his campaign, however, he has stated that "we as a nation must launch a federal view of discriminatory voting practices by states" (www.ontheissues.org).  These practices can include not having ballot accessibility for those who are blind, inaccessible voting booths, etc.

Joe Biden:  Joe Biden is a former long-time senator and Vice President of the United States, alongside President Barack Obama.  Biden does not have a significant history with Disability Rights.  However, he did work closely with Barack Obama and together, they pushed Obamacare through, which protects individuals with pre-existing conditions (www.ontheissues.com).

Cory Booker:  Cory Booker is the former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and an incumbent United States senator of New Jersey.  Of all of the candidates running for president, Booker is the  one of the few to have a section separate to outline rights for those with disabilities.  According to his campaign website (corybooker.com), he will "break down barriers to accessing employment, transportation, housing, and healthcare through the Disability Integration Act; Fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and raise wages by phasing out the subminimum wage for people with disabilities."  Cory Booker has demonstrated the best understanding of disability rights by far.

Steve Bullock:  Steve Bullock is the current governor of Montana.  Like many of the candidates running, Bullock supports protections for people with pre-existing conditions in healthcare, be it through the current Obamacare system, or a reformed system (www.ontheissues.com).

Pete Buttigieg:  Pete Buttigieg is the current Mayor of South Bend, Indiana.  After Cory Booker, Buttigieg is the next candidate to provide the best plans for people with disabilities.  According to his campaign website (peteforamerica.com), Buttigieg plans to provide people with disabilities with better access to polling locations during election cycles.

Julian Castro:  Julian Castro is the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Obama's administration.  In addition to Booker and Buttigieg, Castro has also specifically mentioned disability rights issues on his campaign website, (julianforthefuture.com).  For example, Castro recognizes that children with disabilities are often left behind in their education, due to a lack of resources and accessibility in their schools.  He plans to do this in several ways, including fully funding the IDEA, support increased funding for flexibility and Individuals Education Plans (IEPs), create a pathway to employment for those with disabilities, and educate professionals in schools to increase the success of students with disabilities.  Lastly, he has a plan to end discrimination of people with disabilities when they attempt to obtain housing.

Bill de Blasio:  Bill de Blasio is the incumbent mayor of New York City.  According to On The Issues, de Blasio has stated his plan to expand mental health services.

John Delaney:  John Delaney is a former United States representative for Maryland.  According to his campaign website (johndelaney.com), Delaney supports healthcare for everyone.  In addition, he supports an expansion of mental health resources.

Tulsi Gabbard:  Tulsi Gabbard is an incumbent representatitive for the state of Hawaii.  According to On the Issues, Gabbard supports Obamacare's protections of people with pre-existin conditions.

Kirsten Gillibrand:  Kirsten Gillibrand is an incumbent senator for New York.  According to her campaign website (kirstengillibrand.com), she has been a long time supporter of protections in healthcare for people with pre-existing conditions.

Kamala Harris:  Kamala Harris is an incumbent Senator for California.  Harris, like nearly all of the candidates running for the presidency, supports medicare for everyone (www.kamalaharris.com).

John Hickenlooper:  John Hickenlooper is the former governor of Colorado.  The only policy that he has put forward as of now, is similar to the other candidates.  He supports a medicare for all system (www.johnkickenlooper.com).

Jay Inslee:  Jay Inslee is the incumbent governor of Washington state.  As of right now, he does not hold any policy positions that directly affect those with disabilities (www.jayinslee.com).

Amy Klobuchar:  Amy Klobuchar is an incumbant senator from Minnesota.  According to her campaign site (amyklobuchar.com), she believes in protections for mental health and those with pre-existing conditions in the United State's healthcare system.

Wayne Messam:  Wayne Messam is the incumbent mayor of Miramar, Florida.  As of this week, Messam has not laid out any policy plans related to disability rights (www.waynemessam.com).

Seth Moulton:  Seth Moulton is an incumbent representative for the state of Massachusetts.  Moulton has promised to require mental health screenings for service members, increase the number of mental health professionals in schools, mostly high schools, and introducing a new medicare for all system (www.sethmoulton.com).

Beto O`Rourke:  Beto O`Rourke is a former representative for the state of Texas.  As of July, O`Rourke does not have any policy plans on behalf of people with disabilities (www.betoorourke.com).

Tim Ryan:  Tim Ryan is an incumbent representative for Ohio.  Ryan has several policy points affecting people with disabilities.  He plans to revamp Obamacare and add more healthcare professionals to schools (www.timryan.com).

Bernie Sanders:  Bernie Sanders is an incumbent Senator for Vermont.  Sanders, a long time proponent of a medicare for all system, has introduced similar policies in his campaign.  In addition, he has a separate section on his campaign website for disability rights.  In this section, he vows to protect social security protections for disability, fully fund the IDEA and expand vocational opportunities, eradicate the sub-minimum wage for people with disabilities, ratify the Convention for the Rights of People with Disabilities, and end discrimination (berniesanders.com).

Joe Sestak:  Joe Sestak is a former representative for Pennsylvania.  He has not put forward disability rights policy plans, however, he does plan to reintroduce an improved version of Obamacare (www.joesestak.com).

Tom Steyer:  Tom Steyer is the founder of Farallon Capital.  Currently, he does not have disability rights policy points (www.ontheissues.com).

Elizabeth Warren:  Elizabeth Warren is an incumbent senator for Massachusetts.  A long time proponent of protections in healthcare for individuals with pre-existing conditions, Warren has continued this with a new healthcare plan of her own (www.elizabethwarren.com).

Marianne Williamson:  Marianne Williamson is a New York Times Bestselling Author.  As of July, she does not provide policy points for people with disabilities (www.marianne.com).

Andrew Yang:  Andrew Yang is the founder of Venture for America (VFA).  According to his campaign (andrewyang.com), he promises to increase funding for resources for children with Autism.


I hope that more of the candidates adopt policies for people with disabilities.  If any of the candidates' stances change, I will create an updated post at a later date.  All of the websites that I used for this  post are linked below.


Thanks for reading!


Sources Used:
Issues2000
On The Issues
Cory Booker Website
Pete Buttigieg Website
Julian Castro Website
John Delaney Website
Kirsten Gillibrand Website
Kamala Harris Website
John Hickenlooper Website
Jay Inslee Website
Amy Klobuchar Website
Wayne Messam Website
Seth Moulton Website
Beto O`Rourke Website
Tim Ryan Website
Bernie Sanders Website
Joe Sestak Website
Elizabeth Warren Website
Marianne Williamson Website
Andrew Yang Website

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