Fighting Back Under a 2nd Trump Administration, Part 1: Electoral Organizing
Since November 5th, many disabled people who care about progressive change have been reflecting on the 2024 election and the battles to come under a second Trump administration. Tired from an intense election season, and with the threat of Project 2025 vowing to dismantle much of the federal government’s infrastructure, repeal the Affordable Care Act, and assault the rights of queer and trans people, we are exhausted, afraid, and considering what we should do next.
First, we need to take a breath. At Disability Victory, we’ve been processing the outcome of the 2024 election and what it means for the safety of disability rights at all levels of government. It’s clear that we have a fight ahead, and there are many ways to fight back, both inside and outside of the system. There is no one “correct” way to prepare for what’s ahead, and we will need everybody to contribute to building stronger, welcoming, and accessible communities. Whether that’s running for office or running a mutual aid network, there’s a way for us all to get involved. We need a diversity of tactics and voices.
Over the next few weeks, we will explore options for taking action in the days ahead. Today, we’re focusing on ways to fight back within the electoral system: running for local office, running for state office, and getting involved in ballot measure advocacy.
In our next piece, we will discuss other ways to get organized inside and outside of the system, from protecting our libraries and getting involved in disability organizing to knowing your rights as a disabled protestor.
Running for Local Office
Last year, we made the case for running for local office, and we stand by it. At a time when many of us are feeling despair about the direction of our federal government, creating accessible and welcoming communities is more important than ever. Much of the change that impacts our day-to-day lives happens in local government.
Need a refresher? There are over 500,000 elected officials in the United States, and the vast majority of them are local elected officials. This includes, but isn’t limited to:
City council members
Mayors
School board members
Trial court judges
Sheriffs
Comptrollers
The list goes on. Local government makes important decisions about our roads, schools, libraries, zoning, local environmental policy, and so much more.
Many disabled people are concerned about the Trump Administration’s plans to gut–or even abolish–the Department of Education, which plays a significant role in enforcing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). While disability advocates continue to fight at the federal level to protect special education, school board members can fight at the local level to support students with disabilities, as well as queer, trans, and racially marginalized students.
School boards have become a battleground for our values, and groups like the far-right organizations Moms for Liberty have mobilized to advance policies that harm LGBTQ+ students and whitewash American history. Last year, our partners at Run for Something launched a 50-state School Board Strategy, which seeks to fight back by supporting young, diverse candidates for the more than 80,000 school board positions across the country.
City council members and mayors also play a significant role in progressive change at the local level. These elected officials make decisions over a city’s programs and initiatives, budget and investments, zoning and housing, and local environmental policies. If you want to advocate for accessible infrastructure, widely available public transportation, affordable and accessible housing, sanctuary cities, or local resources for low-income community members, you can effect change in local government.
Read our previous piece on why you should run for local office for more information.
Run for State Office
As Project 2025 talks about dismantling the federal government and “sending power back to the states,” having progressive advocates in state government will be even more important than ever.
State legislatures make major policy decisions that impact our rights and our communities, including abortion access, protections for queer and trans people, voting rights, minimum wage laws, and economic policies. For example, during a Democratic trifecta that started in 2019 and ended in 2022, Virginia’s legislature took action on a wide range of issues, including:
Pledging to eliminate harmful carbon emissions from state utilities by 2050
Decriminalizing marijuana
Abolishing the death penalty
Passing voting rights reforms including same-day voter registration and automatic voter registration, allowing no-excuse absentee voting, and repealing a strict photo ID requirement
Banning LGBTQ conversion therapy
Increasing the minimum wage in phases over several years to $15 an hour by January 1, 2026.
While Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin and Virginia Republicans proposed abortion bans including a 15-week abortion ban, they were prohibited by the Democrats’ narrow majority in the Senate in 2022 and the flipping of the House of Delegates from Republican to Democratic control in 2023.
State legislatures make critical decisions on our rights, and state legislators are the key decision makers promoting progressive policy and blocking policies that roll back the rights of marginalized groups.
Get Involved in Ballot Measure Advocacy
While legislators at all levels of government make a direct impact as policymakers, voters also have the opportunity to weigh in on policy through advocating and voting for (or against) ballot measures. This November, reproductive rights were on the ballot in 10 states, and voters in seven states supported ballot measures to codify abortion access into the state constitutions. This year’s ballot measures show the diversity of this electoral tactic for policy changes that can both expand and restrict our rights:
Voting: Connecticut voted to authorize no-excuse absentee voting, which will expand access to absentee voting for all Connecticut residents. Meanwhile, Iowa, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin voted to establish citizenship requirements for voting that may serve as another barrier for millions of Americans who don’t have documents proving their citizenship.
LGBTQ+ rights: California voted to repeal Proposition 8, which defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
Minimum wage: Alaska voted to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour followed by annual cost-of-living adjustments, Missouri voted to increase the minimum wage up to $15 by 2026 and require one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours of work, and Arizona voted against decreasing minimum wage for tipped workers.
Ballot initiatives can make a massive impact, and this power is clear to legislators. In Florida, a 2006 ballot measure raised the threshold for voter approval of ballot measures to 60%. Ironically, this ballot measure got 57.7% of the vote, not even surpassing the threshold it was created to enact. Because of this 60% threshold, two ballot measures in Florida received a majority of votes but still failed to pass: legalizing adult use of marijuana (56%) and codifying abortion access (57%).
Because of the importance of ballot measures, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center has been working for 25 years to educate citizens and organizations on ballot measure advocacy by conducting trainings, offering a resource library, and partnering with organizations around the government to support ballot measure development and campaign strategy.
However, ballot measures present a challenge for many disabled Americans. In fact, they are challenging for the majority of Americans, as the average ballot measure is written with such complex, technical language that a voter needs a graduate-level education to understand them. Meanwhile, 54% of Americans between the ages of 15 to 74 read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level. Many voters may not understand the initiatives on the ballot and may not be able to make an informed decision at the voting booth, especially if they don’t have the time to research ballot measures or cannot find information on the ballot measure. Disability advocates are working to convince election officials to take actions such as providing plain language summaries of ballot measures. At the same time, organizations like New Disabled South and Disability Culture Lab have partnered to create a Plain Language Ballot Measure Tool that provides plain language summaries of ballot measures in southern states.
How can you get involved in ballot measure advocacy? Because ballot measures are focused on specific policy issues, local and state nonprofit organizations focused on advocacy to particular problems often run ballot measure campaigns. Find an issue you’re passionate about, whether it’s abortion access, voting rights, decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana, or something else, and research local and state advocacy groups who may need your support on a ballot measure campaign.
But what if electoral organizing isn’t for you? Perhaps you don’t want to run for office or work on a campaign. Or maybe you’re feeling disillusioned about our systems of government and how they’re rigged to answer to corporations and billionaires. Electoral organizing is just one avenue for trying to effect change in our communities, and there are so many other ways to fight back that don’t involve voting or campaigning. In our next piece, we will discuss these tactics, from protecting our libraries to supporting local mask blocs and clean air advocacy organizations.
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