AbleLink’s Introduction to Voter Education is an app designed to provide independent access to basic information on voter rights and voting for students and adults with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. It includes a series of six voter education video modules, three step-by-step review lessons, and a nine item quiz. This multimedia app provides computer generated prompts to guide users through the content, and uses digital images and audio narration to present basic information on things like who can vote, requirements for voting, ways to vote, and voting rights such as the right to have someone of your choice assist you while you are voting. It also emphasizes a person’s right to make their own voting choices while voting.
Introduction to Voter Education is a result of preliminary research funded through the US Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. A study conducted with 32 individuals with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders demonstrated significant increases in voter knowledge while using the nine item quiz as a pretest/posttest instrument. Additionally, the self direction features of the app resulted in users being able to learn how to use it very quickly and with very little assistance. It can be a great tool for facilitating individual or group self directed learning and discussion in introducing the world of elections and voting to audiences who are just beginning their foray into understanding their rights and responsibilities in this area.
In summary, Introduction to Voter Education includes the following sessions on voter education and voting rights:
- Session 1: Overview
- Session 2: Who Can Vote?
- Session 3: Registering to Vote
- Session 4: Voting at the Polls on Election Day
- Session 5: Early Voting
- Session 6: Voting by Mail
- Session 7: Review and Test
- Your Voting Rights
- How to Register to Vote
- Ways to Vote
Download it today and start learning about your voting rights!