Disability Debate Questions

A bipartisan group of organizations has set up a website called Open Debate, where you can submit questions for the next Presidential candidates debate, and vote for questions others have submitted. The debate organizers will consider the top 30 questions as of Sunday.

As organizers of #CripTheVote, Alice Wong, Gregg Beratan, and I have submitted this question:

• What would you do as President to protect disabled people of color?

Obviously, we'd like everyone to vote for it, to give it a fighting chance of being asked at the next debate. A high vote total would also be helpful in demonstrating the importance of this issue, even if it doesn't make it into the debate. Please do follow the link and vote for our question if you haven't already.

You should also type "disabled" into the search feature of the Open Debate site and see the other disability-related questions that others have suggested. You can vote for as many as you want.

For what it's worth, here are the other issues I voted for:

• What role will disabled people have in making policy in your administration?

This question roughly matches up with the top issue in the #CripTheVote Disability Issues Survey. Check out the results here.

• Will you create jobs for Americans with disabilities, too?

Employment is obviously a huge issue, especially for disabled people.

• What is the biggest challenge disabled Americans face? How will you address it?

At the moment, this question is within striking distance of actually making the top 30, and it would be interesting to see how Clinton and Trump would answer it.

• How do you plan to help the marriage petition bill for the disabled?

This is not a familiar issue outside the disability community, but in many ways it's a perfect example of bad disability policy that absolutely doesn't have to be bad, and could easily be changed.

• What is your stance on the Disability Integration Act?

This question refers to another fairly specific issue, a bill in Congress aimed at improving home care and helping people get out of nursing homes nation-wide. It's an important initiative that I suspect will be the next big push forward for disability issues in Congress.

So, vote for the issues you care about, and if you want to pose a totally new question of your own, go ahead! On Sunday night we will see how our questions shape the next debate.