About Us
REV UP stands for Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!
REV UP Virginia is voter education and engagement coalition. Our mission is to increase the political power and influence of the disability vote to help bring meaningful change to the lives of disabled Virginians and their families. REV UP Virginia, which was launched in April 2021, is an all-volunteer, nonpartisan initiative. We do not support specific candidates or political parties.
REV UP Virginia is part of the national REV UP Campaign coordinated by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).
Who is part of REV UP Virginia?
REV UP Virginia is made up of interested individuals as well as representatives from diverse disability organizations and ally groups who work collectively to advance the disability vote in the Commonwealth. Our coalition meets monthly to share information and develop strategies to build the political power and influence of people with disabilities. Sign up to join us!
Adam Rizzoli
Disability Voting Rights Week Organizer
What does REV UP Virginia do?
REV UP Virginia activities include, but are not limited to,
- Educating voters, election officials, and candidates
- Participating in Disability Voting Rights Week
- Organizing local and statewide candidate forums
- Developing candidate surveys
- Improving polling place and voting machine accessibility
- Building strategic partnerships with state and local election officials
- Working to eradicate systemic barriers to voting to protect the voting rights of all disabled Virginians
What has REV UP Virginia done recently?
This list was updated in August 2025. Visit News & Events for current information.
REV UP Virginia co-hosted thirty-one Disability Voting Rights Week (DVRW) events throughout the Commonwealth in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
These events were primarily held on college campuses, at community festivals/fairs, and at REV UP Virginia partner organizations such as the Endependence Center, Inc. We registered to vote more than 215 individuals, answered voting related questions/concerns, and promoted the importance of voting and increasing the political power of disabled Virginia voters. County election offices provided demos of their accessible voting machines.
REV UP Virginia kicked off Disability Voting Rights Week 2024 with a voter education webinar titled Make the Disability Vote Count: What You Need to Know for 2024 Voting. The webinar was created in partnership with the Virginia Association of Centers for Independent Living (VACIL) and League of Women Voters of Virginia. In addition, REV UP Virginia co-chairs appeared in a TV interview on CBS 6 Richmond. REV UP Virginia coalition member Carolyn Caywood authored “Voting easier than ever for citizens with disabilities,” an article published in The Virginian-Pilot in August 2024. REV UP Virginia co-chair Helena Berger wrote an opinion piece, “Power of the disability vote,” which was published in The Virginia Mercury in September 2023.
REV UP Virginia held a press conference on October 4, 2023 to showcase the voting power of our 1.6 million disabled Virginians. (More recent statistics are available.) The press conference was held at the Bell Tower, a historic landmark in the southwest corner of the Virginia State Capitol Square in Richmond. Twenty disability and ally organizations participated in the event. Learn more about the press conference and view the CBS 6 News report.
REV UP Virginia has developed a strong working relationship with election officials.
The Commissioners of the Virginia Department of Elections met with our coalition in 2022, 2023, and 2024 to share information, answer questions, and address our concerns. In September 2024, the Commissioner attended our coalition meeting and provided an update on the accessibility of polling places throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia before the November 2024 presidential election.
REV UP Virginia engages state legislators to ensure that disabled Virginians have equal access to voting and can fully participate in all other aspects of society.
In January 2025, Delegate Laura Jane Cohen’s chief of staff attended our coalition meeting to address questions about a bill (HB1806) which would allow public school students with a disability to have accommodations and supports during emergencies/evacuations included in their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Kira Tiller, the student responsible for getting the bill introduced, also attended our January 2025 meeting. REV UP Virginia helped enlist members of the disability community to testify in favor of the bill, including the Virginia Association of Centers for Independent Living (VACIL). The bill is now a law, effective July 1, 2025, which means an IEP team (including the student and their parent/guardian) will come up with and have to sign off on the best plan to help the student be informed and safe in an emergency.
REV UP Virginia was instrumental in getting legislation introduced to safeguard the right of someone under guardianship to be able to vote. We invited State Senator Barbara Favola, who at the time was the Chair of the Virginia Disability Commission, to our July 2024 monthly coalition meeting. Coalition members spoke about how guardianship and/or a mental incompetence finding impacts a disabled person’s right to vote, and the discussion directly resulted in Senator Favola introducing a bill (SB765) during the 2025 legislative session. SB765 provides that finding someone in need of guardianship is not the same thing as finding that they are mentally incompetent for the purpose of voting. SB765, along with its companion bill in the House of Delegates (HB2746), passed. But Governor Youngkin vetoed the bill, noting that he “disagree[s] with placing an additional burden on the court that has previously judged an individual to be mentally incompetent. The burden should remain with the disqualified voters to demonstrate they are competent to vote.” In addition, REV UP Virginia testified in support of the bill before the Virginia Disability Commission in 2024 and before the Senate Courts of Justice Committee in 2025.
We provided written and oral testimony on voting and disability-related legislation introduced in the 2024 General Assembly, including a successful effort to expand the curbside voting law. This new law expands curbside voting by allowing a voter with any disability to vote without leaving their vehicle. Previously, curbside voting was limited to voters with physical disabilities. Curbside voting continues to be available for all people ages 65 or older.
Stay in Touch
Sign Up for REV UP Virginia Emails
What’s Happening
- Questions or problems voting? Call or text a nonpartisan hotline!If you are having trouble voting, or just have questions, you can call or text a hotline to call a trained Election Protection volunteer. You can also use WhatsApp, Facebook, and email to send a message. If you use ASL, the National Association of the Deaf operates an ASL Voter Assistance Hotline.
- Three proposed Constitutional amendments are on the ballot in Virginia this November 3 ElectionThe proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution deal with reproductive freedom, marriage equality, and restoring voting rights. They will appear on your ballot as Question 1, Question 2, and Question 3.
- Join us for a statewide Candidate Forum on issues that matter to the disability communityHear directly from candidates for U.S. Senate running in the upcoming general election. This virtual event will be held on October 7, 2026 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. ASL interpretation will be provided.