Thank you to everyone who attended the first meeting of REV UP New Jersey, an effort led by the ACI to engage NJ's disability advocacy organizations in increasing the participation of people with disabilities in the elections process. Our first planning meeting included representatives from the NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities, Disability Rights NJ, DAWN, Inc., Moceans and the Camden City Center for Independent Living. If you would like to be a part of the REV UP NJ planning committee, please contact Luke Koppisch at lkoppisch@adacil.org.
REV UP NJ is part of a national REV UP effort. Be sure to like the REV UP NJ Facebook page for updates on our upcoming REV UP NJ Kickoff at the NJ State House on July 25th, as well as other events.
To register for the kickoff, please visit: adacil.org/upcoming-events/rev-up-nj-kickoff
Thank you to Middlesex County’s Plays in the Park staff, actors, musicians, and crew for a wonderful evening! Eighteen participants from ACI gathered at Roosevelt Park in Edison for a production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. The costumes and set design were beautiful to look at while the music and acting were top-notch. ACI participants and staff had a fun time hanging out under the sea with Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian and the rest of the gang!
Thank you to Saint Peter's University Hospital Community Mobile Health Program for presenting a workshop on sun damage prevention on Tuesday, June 7th. Staff from the hospital also conducted free skin damage screenings on participants using a DermaScan machine.
Thank you to our volunteer, Al, for helping us plant tomatoes in the new ACI garden! This past spring, ACI has conducted a series of gardening classes and volunteers are hard at work putting into practice what they have learned. This garden is one example of how we are beautifying the outside of our building. We can't wait for the tomatoes!
The Alliance Center for Independence is working with other organizations throughout the state to increase the turnout of voters with disabilities this election year. ACI has formed a chapter of National REV UP (REV UP New Jersey) to lead this effort in NJ.
What is Being Decided?
Voters will decide the Republican and Democratic candidates to run in the general election in November. The candidates will be for president and members of the House of Representatives from NJ.
Who Can Vote?
New Jersey has "closed" primaries. This means that only Republican voters can nominate Republican candidates, and only Democratic voters can nominate Democratic candidates.Voters in New Jersey who are unaffiliated with any political party or group can declare either Republican or Democrat at the polls on the day of the primary and vote in that party's primary.
Where Do I Vote?
All registered voters should have received a sample ballot that indicates where your polling place is located. If you are unsure, click here: voter.njsvrs.com/elections/polling-lookup.html
What Do I Do if My Polling Place is Not Accessible?
All polling places are required to be accessible. All voters have the right to vote in private, independently and in a location that is accessible. If you experience problems voting, contact your county board of elections. For a list of the county board of elections, click here: http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/voting-information-local-officials.html. Voters with disabilities experiencing problems can also contact Disability Rights NJ on Election Day at 800-922-7233 or mciccone@drnj.org.
If you are voting for the first time, you must be registered and you must bring identification, or a document that has your current name and address on it.
For more information on voting and your voting rights or if you would like to be involved in REV UP NJ, please visit our website or contact Luke Koppisch at 732-738-4388 or lkoppisch@adacil.org.
The Alliance Center for Independence joins other disability rights organizations and advocates in condemning the movie, Me Before You, which opens in theaters this Friday. Me Before You is a story of a wealthy young man who, after becoming paralyzed, chooses to end his life through physician assisted suicide means. He does this in order so that he is no longer a "burden" to his caretaker, whom he falls in love with.
The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), Not Dead Yet and the Center for Disabled Rights in NYC object to the way the film portrays people with disabilities: that we are a burden to the rest of us, that killing oneself is better than living with a disability and that people with disabilities can not have a fulfilling life and make contributions to the community like non-disabled people.
