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Welcome to the new and improved ElectionAccess.org, a one-of-a-kind collection of resources on political participation and disability rights.

Disability rights are human rights. Inclusive elections are credible elections.

Updates

IFES Celebrates 35 Years of the Americans with Disabilities Act

July 25, 2025

Left to right: IFES Senior Global Inclusion Advisor Virginia Atkinson, Judy Heumann, and former IFES Deputy Country Director Lasanthi Dakson

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a landmark piece of legislation that “protects people with disabilities from discrimination” through providing accessibility and accommodation resources, a way to report disability rights violations, and comprehensive protection for persons with disabilities under state and federal law. It celebrates its 35th year in force on July 26, 2025. The passage of the ADA was far from simple; it required decades of advocacy and protest led by disability rights activists and leaders. Foremost among them was Judith “Judy” Heumann, who served under both the Clinton and Obama administrations and was the first to hold the position of Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the State Department. Judy also posthumously received IFES’ Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award in 2023.

Judy’s tireless efforts helped not only to pass the ADA but also to create a culture of disability inclusion and meaningful engagement in civic and political processes for persons with disabilities around the world. Below is an excerpt from Judy’s memoir, Being Heumann, reflecting on the passage of the ADA:

July 26, 1990, was a glorious summer day in Washington, DC. The trees were lush, the sun was out, and the sky was blue. Three thousand people were gathered on the South Lawn of the White House. In front, standing on a platform, was President George H. W. Bush, with Justin Dart [prominent disability advocate and activist] at his side. As President Bush began to speak, a hush fell on the enormous crowd. “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down,” he said. And he sat down at a desk and signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. Our time had come. After nearly twenty years of protesting – from one coast to the other, under five presidents, Republican and Democratic – we had created what I believe to be the strongest, most comprehensive civil rights legislation for disability in the world. I was forty-one years old, and, finally, I was an equal citizen.

IFES Senior Global Inclusion Advisor Virginia Atkinson Named on Forbes Inaugural Accessibility 100

June 17, 2025

A picture of Virginia Atkinson holding a microphone at the Global Disability Summit in 2025

IFES celebrates its Senior Global Inclusion Advisor Virginia Atkinson for being named one of Forbes’ top 100 “impact-makers and innovators in the field of accessibility for people with disabilities.” Making its debut this year, the list features leaders across communication, education, employment and workplace, entertainment and arts, influencer and advocacy, law and government, mobility, products, software, sports and recreation, and others.

Featured in the law and government category, Virginia shared her experience advancing voting rights by making elections accessible for persons with disabilities and protecting these rights with new laws and policies.

In reflecting on her work, Virginia shared, “I am honored to be included on this list with formidable colleagues and friends. Disability rights advocates around the world are on the front lines of democracy promotion and continue to make gains that support the human rights of all people, even as civic space shrinks. Thank you to Forbes for releasing their inaugural Accessibility 100 List to shine a light on these innovations.”

We congratulate Virginia on her hard work and dedication to promoting disability inclusion across the electoral cycle and for persons with disabilities’ meaningful engagement in civic and political life!

View the full list here.

Kickoff: the Election Tech Accessibility Database

June 10, 2025

Today the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), with support from Microsoft, proposed a new database that will track the accessibility of election technology available around the world. Serving as a catalog of election technology and assistive technology that can be deployed during elections, the database will rely on ongoing community and vendor feedback to ensure it is relevant, useful, and accurate.

IFES’ Matt Bailey and Virginia Atkinson, Microsoft’s Jenny Lay-Flurrie, and the Special Talent Exchange Programme's Muhammad Atif Sheikh stand for a selfie in front of a sign that reads, 'IFES Accessible Elections Roundtable.'

The consultative event, held at the Microsoft office in New York on the sidelines of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, featured a panel of speakers, including Microsoft Vice President & Chief Accessibility Officer Jenny Lay-Flurrie; IFES Senior Global Advisor, Inclusion Virginia Atkinson; and IFES Senior Global Digital Democracy Advisor Matt Bailey. The event brought over 125 attendees in person and online around the world together to learn more about the initiative and share thoughts on the usability of a database of this kind.

Call for feedback

IFES will continue to collect feedback from the broader community through July 7th to inform the data schema. IFES will begin soliciting data from elections technology providers, election authorities, and other stakeholders to populate the resource. For future updates, be sure to follow electionaccess.org, where the dataset will eventually be made publicly available.

Learn more about the database Explore the database codebook

Follow and engage

Twitter: @ifesdisability
LinkedIn: @ifes1987

Strengthening electoral processes to be inclusive and accessible for all persons with disabilities.