1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to demand that Congress fiercely protect and uphold the voting rights of Americans with disabilities, specifically by defending the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965. Voting is an unalienable right that belongs to all citizens, and having a physical or cognitive disability does not change that truth. Any legislative effort or policy shift that attempts to bring back mass institutionalization—or use institutional placement as a backdoor mechanism to strip disabled citizens of their right to vote—is a direct violation of federal law and basic civil rights. Under the ADA, individuals with disabilities must be provided full accommodations and access to the ballot, regardless of their living arrangements. Historically, institutionalization was used to isolate disabled Americans and exclude them from democracy. We cannot go backward. I urge you to stand firmly against any bills or policies that weaken these landmark civil rights laws, and instead ensure that the unalienable right to vote remains protected and accessible to every single eligible American, no matter their status.