Citizenship & Advocacy

Advocacy is not always easy. In fact, it can be challenging at times. Advocacy requires knowledge, practice, and patience. Many times when we need to use our self-advocacy skills, we are in situations that make us nervous, upset, or emotional. If we find ourselves in a situation such as this, it is a good idea to take a few deep breaths, pause, reset or start over. Advocacy is a skill that each of us can learn and improve upon. Advocacy takes practice, and the more you practice, the better your advocacy skills will become.

An important part of self-advocacy is learning to be comfortable talking about your specific disability. It is important everyone learn to talk to others about what it is like to live with certain conditions. Talking about our disabilities helps others understand our needs and the accommodations we may need at work, school, and in the community.

Disclosure means you make the information known to someone. You get to choose when to tell someone about your disability and how much to tell them. There may be times you choose to tell someone about your disability so you can receive the accommodation you need. An example of this would be when getting a job, attending school, or when traveling. Conversely, there may be times when you chose not to disclose your disability. Remember, how and when you chose to disclose your disability is your decision.

• Be 18 years of age on or before the day of the election.
• Be a US Citizen.
• Be a resident of Utah for at least 30 days before the election.
• Have a valid driver’s license or Utah ID card.
• A desire to exercise your right to vote!
• If you are 16 or 17 years old, you can pre-register to vote. If you pre-register, you will automatically be registered to vote when you turn 18 years old.