Southern Voters Agree Disabled People Have Inclusivity in Their Local Community but Face Discrimination When It Comes to Interacting With Law Enforcement

By Kirby Phares, Tenneth Fairclough II, Evangel Penumaka, Kiana R. Jackson, and Jennifer M. Gray

From October 3 to 10, 2023, Data for Progress and New Disabled South conducted surveys of likely voters in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee to examine voter sentiment on several aspects of life for disabled people in the South. This includes whether voters believe their local community is inclusive to disabled people and whether disabled people experience discrimination due to their disability while interacting with law enforcement. These surveys also looked into different personal interactions voters report having with law enforcement across each state.

The surveys show that voters across these Southern states overwhelmingly believe their local community is inclusive of disabled people. Voters' opinions vary slightly, however, on whether they believe disabled people in their communities experience discrimination due to their disability when interacting with law enforcement; for instance, disabled and Black voters frequently agree with this sentiment more than non-disabled and white voters. When thinking about their own personal interactions with law enforcement, a plurality of voters in these Southern states report saying their first interaction with law enforcement came after being stopped during a traffic stop, while other interactions include calling 911 about an emergency or being a victim of a crime, calling about a non-emergency, and reporting a crime. Our results show that while voters believe disabled people have inclusivity in their local communities, a plurality of voters believe they face discriminatory barriers from local law enforcement. These results also show a large knowledge gap on these sentiments from voters across different demographics, pointing to the need for continued awareness and education on the plight of disabled people in the South.