Tonight the candidates for President will hold their first debate. The Arc thought you might want to see how the party platforms match up on disability issues.

The Arc has developed a side by side report “2012 Party Platforms Comparison on Disability Issues.”

While the Republican and Democratic party platforms included specific sections on people with disabilities, both also included mention of people with disabilities in other platform issue sections. The Republican platform included mention of people with disabilities in its sections on civil rights*, international issues*, Medicaid, and education while the Democratic platform mentioned people with disabilities in its sections on civil rights, Social Security and Medicare, voting, and poverty. The language in this report is excerpted directly from the Republican and Democratic party platforms.

The Arc, as a 501(c)3 charitable organization, is legally prohibited from taking positions in support of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. This information is provided for individuals to use in making their own judgments.


Tony Paulauski
Executive Director
The Arc of Illinois
20901 S. LaGrange Rd. Suite 209
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-464-1832 (OFFICE)
815-464-1832 (CELL)
Tony@www.thearcofil.org