In two decades of covering disability issues, this presidential campaign seems more focused on issues related to disability than any campaign I remember. I have seen sign language interpreters at political rallies, campaign literature published in large print and rallies held in accessible buildings.

Yet, as the November presidential election approaches, questions proliferate around the Democratic and Republican candidates' positions on disability issues, on whether the candidates mean what they say, and whether voters with disabilities will respond by voting or not voting.

The issues challenging people with disabilities are protecting the Americans with Disabilities Act, being employed, funding IDEA, ensuring full access to public places, enacting the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Support Act (MiCASSA), receiving quality healthcare, supporting the US Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, guaranteeing access to assistive technology, building more accessible, affordable and integrated housing, and ensuring that veterans with disabilities are treated fairly.

If a Democratic president wants to ensure these issues are addressed then the party must recapture majorities in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Numerous calls to the Republican leadership office s in both chambers asking where they stand on disability issues were not returned. Calls to the Democratic leadership in both chambers asking the same questions were returned, and I was told by a spokesperson for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), "The Democrats strongly support protecting the rights of people with disabilities and will continue to do so vigorously under a Democratic administration."

Protecting Americans with disabilities opportunity to work, and to complete and participate in public life appears strong among Democratic presidential contenders Wesley Clark, John Edwards, John Kerry, Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich. Calls to Al Sharpton's headquarters on his positions on disability issues were not returned. When I asked Sharpton, when he was in Washington , DC for the Democratic primary, what is your policy on supporting disability issues, especially supporting the ADA ? he said, "I support enforcing civil rights for every American, and I am the only candidate in this race with a civil rights history." And yet when I mentioned section 508 and MiCASSA either he did not hear me or he was unfamiliar with the terms because he said, "I told you my record."

Spokespersons for Clark, Kerry, Edwards, Dean and Kucinich spoke passionately about their candidates' commitments on disability issues and having people with disabilities working on their campaigns. Kerry's campaign mentioned proudly and often the fact that former Georgia Democratic Senator and triple amputee Max Cleland supports Kerry and advises the campaign on disability and other issues. Equality of opportunity for people with disabilities shows in the campaigns. A person with a disability volunteering for Dean told me, "His campaign staff embraced me and gives me the same responsibilities as non-disabled people."

Edwards' staff sent me position papers on disability issues and said, "The senator's years of courtroom battles fighting for peoples' rights have given him a unique sensitivity and awareness of disability causes and issues."

The disability community believes that the war experiences of Senator Kerry and former General Clark and the wounds they incurred increase their sensitivity to the daily challenges of people with disabilities.

"Having been wounded themselves, Senator Kerry and General Clark know what it is to be disabled," said Tommy Lawton, a disabled veteran.

Clarks' staff pointed to his statement calling for enforcement of the ADA and promising to appoint judges who will uphold disability laws, and his position on supporting an ADA Restoration Act to reinstate the originally intended definitions of disability and reasonable accommodation, which he believes the Rehnquist Court has persistently whittled away.

The candidates have identical positions on disability issues. For example, they want the federal government to be a model employer and hire tens of thousands of people with disabilities. If he becomes president, General Clark wants to employ 100,000 people with disabilities. The challenge before these candidates, if one of them is elected president, is where will the money come from to hire tens of thousand of people with disabilities. The huge deficits piled up by the Bush administration prohibit hiring the numbers these candidates want. Therefore either taxes are raised or programs cut to meet a potentially expanding payroll. However, today's Congress will not appropriate the funds for 5,000 new employees. Therefore, a new Democratic majority Congress is needed.

Except for Sharpton, the candidates support MiCASSA because no one should be forced into an institutional setting based solely on the need for personal attendant services. They support passing the Family Opportunity Act to expand Medicaid coverage to children with severe disabilities living in middle-income families, and they support fully funding IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), in the amount of $40 billion annually.

The candidates agree that people with disabilities to achieve independence need accessible, affordable and integrated housing and promise to provide tax incentives and section 8 vouchers to improve housing choices for people with disabilities.

  The candidates promise to enforce the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Act of 1999 so individuals with disabilities can work without being unfairly penalized by Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.  Despite TWWIA, millions of potential workers remain unemployed because, "we believe we will lose our cash or medical benefits," said Michael Scott, an unemployed disabled person.

The Bush Administration is implementing TWWIA, and I was told by an administration spokesperson, "We have a distinguished record for implementing TWWIA." TWWIA is operating in 50 states and all U.S. territories.

Other areas of similarity among the candidates include appointing an assistant to the president on disability policy, appointing people with disabilities to a wide spectrum of executive appointments, and holding a White House Conference on People with Disabilities to develop a long-term agenda to modernize federal programs serving people with disabilities so they can achieve independence in every aspect of their lives.

The candidates recognize the role assistive technology has in providing opportunities for people with disabilities and promise to make electronic information and technology accessible by enforcing telecommunications accessibility laws. Kerry, for example, said he will propose legislation to ensure that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to e-commerce and web-based places of public accommodations.

As for enforcing section 508, Senator Kerry told me several months ago, "I will damn sure enforce section 508. My administration will make sure the law works and its trickle down benefits to other governments and consumers with disabilities achieved."

Section 508 requires that federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities.

Critics, including business supporters, of the Bush administration say section 508 is not being enforced and therefore federal employees with disabilities are not benefiting from access to information technology and are stymied in not being able to advance their careers.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice says it is rigorously enforcing section 508, the ADA and other disability laws.

A Bush administration official told me to look at the President's New Freedom Initiatives Act as a sign of the president's commitment to disabled people. Introduced in February 2001, the NFI's goals are: increasing access to assistive and universally designed technologies, expanding educational opportunities for students with disabilities, promoting full access to community life, implementing Section 8 program to allow recipients to apply their rental vouchers to homeownership and moving Americans with disabilities into the workforce.

The Democrats running for the presidency and the president are aware of disability issues. With 40 million voters having a disability they better be aware. Their campaigns seem sensitive to the communications and physical access needs of people with disabilities. Still, I believe the candidates need to do more to show their support for people with disabilities. They could ensure that when they are interviewed on TV they have a sign language interpreter with them. They could have people with disabilities in visible positions of responsibility. They could campaign before groups of people with disabilities more than they are. They could have their candidates have on-line chats with voters with disabilities and their relatives.

The candidates could attend fund-raising drives sponsored by people with disabilities. Even if the amount raised is small still the groundwork has been laid for inclusiveness. Lastly, a thought that seems impenetrable and incomprehensible to the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee is a national voting registration drive among people with disabilities. Calls to the RNC and DNC on sponsoring national voting registration drives for people with disabilities were not returned. However, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is urging his party to begin a national voting registration drive among people with disabilities. Republican Senator John McCain believes it is a good idea.