DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate encourages all Iowans to participate in National Disability Voter Registration Week, July 17-21. There are an estimated 300,000 Iowans that have a disability. Statistics show people with disabilities are less likely to vote than the general population.

Voter registration drives are being held in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Coralville this week. The events are conducted by the Central Iowa Center for Independent Living and Access 2 Independence, in collaboration with the Register, Educate, Vote, Use your Power (REVUP) Campaign. This program works to increase overall political power for people with disabilities and engaging others to learn more about the disability community.

"I am committed to helping each eligible Iowan be a voter," Secretary Pate said. "I want to encourage everyone to register to vote this, especially those with disabilities. Attend a registration drive, or use one of the many different methods we offer for registering to vote, including online."

To learn more about resources available to help Iowans with disabilities register to vote and cast their ballot, visit sos.iowa.gov/disabilities. The page includes a link for registering to vote online and for downloading a voter registration form. The registration form is screen reader-friendly. Large print voter registration forms for Iowans with low vision are also available for downloading from the Secretary of State’s website.

Here is a list of the voter registration drives being conducted this week in central and eastern Iowa, in conjunction with National Voters with Disabilities Registration Week:

Monday July 17
Franklin Library-Des Moines
Noon-4 p.m.

Tuesday July 18
East Side Branch Library-Des Moines
1:00-3 p.m.

Cedar Rapids Public Library-Cedar Rapids
1:00-4:00 p.m.

Wednesday July 19
South Side Branch Library-Des Moines
12:30-3:30 p.m.

Thursday July 20
Forest Avenue Library-Des Moines
12:30-3:30 p.m.

Coralville Public Library-Coralville
10 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Friday July 21
North Side Branch Library-Des Moines
10:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

###