How Disability Advocates are playing a role in day two of the DNC

CHICAGO -- The stage is set for night two of the Democratic National Convention, with Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz not set to be in attendance at The United Center but rather at a watch party in Milwaukee. The same spot in which former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party Nomination last month.

The Host Committee has gone out of its way to promote how ADA accessible the DNC is this year, saying it's the most accessible convention ever, and maybe giving a sign of how serious the Harris-Walz campaign is taking disability rights.

The wife of the Vice President Nominee, Gwen Walz, made a surprise visit to a caucus meeting on that subject.

The First Lady of Minnesota didn't get specific on the issue, instead told stories about her and her husband's time working together as teachers.

Disability Advocate Janni Lehrer-Stein states how just Gwen's presence is a sign of how the Harris-Walz campaign is trying to be inclusive and is indicative of the differences between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on all Civil Rights.

"You don't have to have vision, and we should clarify that I am a blind person, but you don't have to have vision in order to see the differences that make our lives enriched impossible with a candidate like Kamala Harris as opposed to the degradation and discrimination we suffered under President Trump," stated Lehrer-Stein.

Indiana Delegate Emily Voorde from South Bend has spent her adult life trying to advocate for the one in four Americans with a disability.

Voorde was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which causes bones to easily break, and she founded a consulting firm to push for disability inclusion in politics.

She told ABC57 that now, after 30 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it's time to build on the foundation that law set.

"The Americans with Disabilities Act is phenomenal, but it's a floor, right? It's a foundation for what the opportunity can be for people with disabilities. So, I think there's a great, a great opportunity, whether it be in health care and caregiving, in education and in employment. There's no kind of one disability policy," stated Voorde.

Voorde previously worked for the White House, connecting with disabled Americans, and has been credited with helping improve conditions on airlines.