The political participation of disabled people in Europe: Rights, accessibility and activism

•Disability is a missing socio-economic variable in political participation research.•Human rights indicators of structure, process and outcomes are developed.•Political equality and voting rights are denied to some groups of disabled people in national laws.•Barriers and social capital interact with impairment effects on political participation.•There is a lack of monitoring on disability equality and the accessibility of electoral processes.

This paper provides the first systematic cross-national assessment of disabled people's electoral and political participation, based on research in the 28 Member States of the European Union and in the context of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A mixed methods approach included policy analysis, information requests to national experts and secondary analysis of European survey data. The evidence populated indicators which suggest four lines of action: (a) lifting legal and administrative barriers; (b) raising awareness; (c) making political participation more accessible; (c) expanding participation opportunities in public life. Civil society organizations as well as public institutions have an important role to play as change agents in this regard.