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Roanoke proclaims Sept. 8–12 Disability Voting Rights Week, local advocates call for accessible voting
Summary
Vice Mayor Terry Maguire read a proclamation declaring Sept. 8–12, 2025 as Disability Voting Rights Week; Karen Mikulski Carney of the Blue Ridge Independent Living Center described the week's goals and urged accessible voting measures for roughly 20,000 City of Roanoke residents with disabilities.
Vice Mayor Terry Maguire presented a proclamation at the Sept. 2 Roanoke City Council meeting declaring Sept. 8–12, 2025 as Disability Voting Rights Week in the city.
The proclamation text cited national figures and called for elected officials, elections officials, poll workers and non-disabled community members to learn about barriers that voters with disabilities face and to take actions to increase accessibility. The vice mayor read the proclamation on behalf of Mayor Joseph C. Cobb and the city.
Karen Mikulski Carney, executive director of the Blue Ridge Independent Living Center, said the national Rev Up campaign hosted by the American Association of People with Disabilities organizes the week as a cross-disability, grassroots effort to educate disabled voters and to encourage registration and participation. She said the week is about "advocating for accessible futures, celebrating community, and building power." Mikulski Carney noted the proclamation was made on behalf of the "almost 20,000 City of Roanoke citizens with disabilities" and asked residents to register, make a plan to vote in November and support accessible election processes.
Vice Mayor Maguire also reminded the public that early voting opens Sept. 19 and encouraged residents to explore voting-by-mail and other options as the November election approaches.
