Advocacy group for voters with disabilities denied passes to RNC

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A leading advocacy group for Americans with disabilities says their application for passes to observe the RNC were denied.

The American Association of People with Disabilities says that will prevent them from connecting with disabled Republican voters.

Maria Town is the President and CEO of AAPD. She says it's a missed opportunity.

She said the group requested to attend both parties' conventions this summer. They did receive passes to the DNC, but the passes to the RNC were denied.

Town said, "It prevents an opportunity to see how issues that matter to disabled people are being integrated into platforms and being discussed by one of the nation's primary parties."

Town said disabled people belong anywhere where decisions are made. Which is why the AAPD requested to attend both conventions this summer.

Town said size restrictions were cited as the reason for the denial.

She said, "It also prevents us from reaching out to disabled Republican voters."

The non-partisan, nonprofit organization was founded in 1995 by both Democrats and Republicans, including the late Republican Senator Bob Dole.

AAPD says there are more than 38 million voters with disabilities in the US, and Town said AAPD works to empower everyone, regardless of party. "We do a huge amount of work to increase disabled voter registration, remove barriers to voter, barriers at the polls, and to increase candidate literacy and education issues that matter to disabled people."

Key issues for the organization are having adequate home services, inclusive employment opportunities, and inclusive education.

But now they say they will not have the chance to discuss those issues with voters or Republican leaders.

Town said, "An opportunity for meaningful engagement is not going to happen. So we're not going to try to figure out how to engage in other ways."

As a result of not getting passes, AAPD will not have a presence in Milwaukee during the convention.