My Voice, My Vote - About Us

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About Us

My Voice, My Vote is a project to help motivate and teach young adults with disabilities about voting, and about other ways to participate in the political process. My Voice, My Vote, a collaborative project of the Institute on Community Integration, the Humphrey Institute’s Center for Democracy and Citizenship, Partnership Resources Inc., and the Minneapolis Public Schools, with support from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office, is aimed primarily at Minnesota’s young adults with disabilities, educators in high school and transition programs, and community service providers and advocates.

In July 2008, the project held a one-day workshop where young adults with disabilities learned what it means to be a citizen and how to exercise one’s right to vote. Project staff filmed the workshop for the video posted on this Web site and on YouTube. The video includes segments on how to use regular and adapted voting equipment and on voting methods available in Minnesota. The project has also developed and compiled online resources, focused primarily on Minnesota voters, showing how to register to vote, who can vote, ways to vote, and other ways to be heard in the political process.

For more information, see also My Voice, My Vote: ICI Helps Prepare Voters with Disabilities on the Institute on Community Integration Web site.

Project Partners

  • The Institute on Community Integration (ICI), a federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities located in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.
  • The Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. The Center serves the University and, through various outreach programs, local communities and the larger public.
  • Partnership Resources, Inc., (PRI) provides services to adults with developmental disabilities in the Twin Cities area. PRI is among the longest standing programs of its type and provides innovative programs and opportunities for the individuals they serve.
  • Transition Plus Services/Minneapolis Public Schools, a community-based program for secondary students with disabilities ages 18 to 21.

Special thanks to the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State for their assistance.

My Voice, My Vote was funded by a grant from the Charles and Mabel Williams Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation, awarded to the Institute on Community Integration.

Staff

Chris Bremer, Ph.D., the Project Director for My Voice, My Vote, is a Research Associate at the Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota. Chris does research on improving the success of students with disabilities in school, especially in postsecondary education. The first time she helped people register to vote was when she was 14 years old and living in New York City.

Jerry Smith is the media producer for the Institute on Community Integration's Research and Training Center on Community Living. Jerry specializes in documentary and educational video and electronic media projects that support community inclusion (see RTCMedia). He is an award-winning video producer who has led many projects in support of persons with disabilities.