#CripTheVoteStories with Katherine Schneider (01:17)

On Tuesday, September 27, 2016, National Voter Registration Day, our friends at #CripTheVote hosted a Twitter chat on Storytelling and Voting with Rooted in Rights as a Guest Host. Rooted in Rights and the organizers of #CripTheVote created a series of short videos featuring the disability community.

Video visual descriptions
Each video begins with the same graphic as follows: Logo of #CripTheVoteStories with the text of the hashtag in rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue purple and yellow) is placed at the top of every video player, and remains there during the video. During a music jingle, a graphic of a box with four quadrants with pictures of 1) the international symbol of access, a wheelchair sign, 2) Two hands signing, 3) A person using a white cane and 3) An image of a person’s brain. The box with four quadrants turns into a voting box with grey check that swipes across. An orange title screen draws in from both sides with the name of the person, and their city. Following each video, the music jingle plays again with the @RootedinRights Twitter handle as a title screen.

Katherine Schneider, PhD | Eau Claire, WI transcript:
“Before the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), when I voted, I had to have a friend mark my ballot for me, or poll officials. By the time I had one Democrat, one Republican, one guide dog, and me in the polling booth, it didn’t feel like a secret ballot. Although, I’m sure they all kept their mouths shut. The first time I used the accessible voting machine, put on the headphones, listened to the choices, pushed buttons to pick my choices, and voted by myself, I cried. I was an American with a secret ballot, at last! I’m active on various city, county, state, and national committees and boards, because I care about the issues and think the voices of people with disabilities need to be heard too. Please vote, because you can, and because you care about the issues and candidates. As a friend and lobbyist says: “If you’re not at the table, you’re likely to be on the menu!””