A NEXT COLLABORATES WEBINAR
Your Vote Counts:
Understanding Your Ballot and Voting with Confidence
Thursday, September 17, 2026
12:00 PM EST
HOSTED BY
Your vote has power. It is how you choose the people who make decisions for your town, state, and country.
In this webinar, you will learn simple ways to get ready to vote and better understand what is on your ballot. We will share practical tools and resources to help you learn about candidates and ballot questions.
Join The Arc, First Place Global's Vote the Spectrum, and NEXT for AUTISM for this important webinar, led by leaders with disabilities and neurodivergent leaders. They will share their personal experiences about how they get ready to vote, learn about their ballots, and make voting choices that are right for them.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS WEBINAR
- People with disabilities and people who are neurodivergent
- Family members, caregivers, and supporters
- Disability advocates and community leaders
- Anyone looking for accessible, practical information about preparing to vote
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- How to find and use a sample ballot to prepare to vote
- Where you can find voting and election information
- How to learn more about candidates and ballot questions
- How AI can help you understand your ballot
- Why it is important to check information from AI before you use it to make voting decisions
Speakers
Dr. Yvette Pegues
Moderator
Chief Prevention Officer at Your Invisible DisAbility Group
Bodie Bernosky
Panelist
Autistic Self-Advocate & Civic Champion
Harry Goralnik
Panelist
Autistic & LGBTQ+ Self-Advocate
Sarvesh Chandran
Panelist
Officer, The Arc’s National Council of Self Advocates
Diana Stolfo
Panelist
Advocate for Special Challenges
Veronica Ayala
Panelist
Board President of The Arc Texas
Resources & Support
Want to learn more about your Rights, and register to vote? Check out these resources.
- The Arc National
- Vote the Spectrum
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network
- U.S. Government
- American Association for People with Disabilities REV UP: Register, Educate, Vote, Use Your Power
Access Videos of Past Panels, Webinars, and Resources
A NEXT COLLABORATES WEBINAR
NEXT for AUTISM collaborates with NEXT grantees to share expertise, build relationships, and create free resources for autistic adults, families, professionals, and service providers. This webinar is part of that effort to strengthen services, respond to field-wide needs, and expand the reach of promising work across the autism community.
This webinar is in collaboration with The Arc and First Place Global's nonpartisan platform, Vote the Spectrum.
