• ACBVA’s Advocacy Principles
• ACBVA’s State-level Advocacy Initiatives
• National Advocacy Campaigns and Actions

ACBVA’s Advocacy Principles

We are staunch advocates for our rights and for the services that make us productive citizens. Currently, we are working on the following:

• Creation of a national framework for website and software accessibility;
• Full access to video content from the video service provider of our choosing;
• Changes in the voting process to allow us to cast an independent, private, verifiable and secure ballot;
• Installation of accessible pedestrian signals to allow us to travel safely and independently;
• Advocacy for more audio description on TV, in movies, at theaters, museums, and parks;
• Tactile paper currency;
• Accessible medical equipment, including tests, that we use in our homes so that we can independently manage our medical needs; and
• Acceptance of our service animals on all appropriate modes of transportation.

ACBVA’s State-level Advocacy Initiatives

This year, for the first time, we have been actively advocating with the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond. We had a very successful trip there on January 22, with fifteen of our members and allies attending., along with the Blinded Veterans Association, and working in coordination with the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia. We talked to state delegates, state senators, and their staff, sharing a fact sheet that we developed. We are also actively participating in committees where our bills are being discussed. Our three issues are:

• Support the electronic return of absentee ballots so that any blind or low vision voter in Virginia can vote privately and independently (HB493). The current system requires the voter to print the ballot, sign the envelope, and mail the ballot; some or all of these activities are difficult for some blind and low vision individuals to perform independently.
• Support the introduction of autonomous vehicles in Virginia (HB1125 and SB670). Currently these vehicles are not permitted to operate in Virginia. Waymo would like to operate in the state. Our concern is that any autonomous vehicle, regardless of the manufacturer, should be accessible and meet our needs.
• Increase the number of audible pedestrian signals in Virginia, particularly in small towns and rural areas where no such signals currently exist. This is not a legislative issue for this year. We are exploring the development of an evaluation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the signals which we hope would then encourage legislators to appropriate funds for the signals in a future legislative session.

In order to follow state-level issues through the legislative process, please visit https://vga.virginia.gov.

To obtain the latest information as to how you can help on any of these three issues, please contact RoseAnn Ashby, Chair of ACBVA’s Advocacy Committee, at roseann@acbva.org or 703-403-0226. You should also watch closely the announcements circulated on the members-only email list.

National Advocacy Campaigns and Actions

ACB’s Advocacy Initiatives

If you have not done so already and you are interested in learning more about the issues and initiatives ACB supports, you should visit https://www.acb.org/advocacy. On this page you will find:

• links where you can hear regular updates from Claire Stanley, ACB’s director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, on current issues;
• information about current national advocacy initiatives, including the ACB legislative imperatives that are the focus at the DC Leadership Conference and that we discuss with our Virginia Congressional staff;
• information about the Speak4 platform, which is an easy way for you to express your support for various bills as they make their way through Congress (it’s as simple as entering your name and address and the system generates a letter to your United States representative and senator).
• The three legislative imperatives should be familiar to those of you who were involved with advocacy last year. They include:
  • Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act (119th Congress)
  • The Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act (119th Congress)
  • The Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (119th Congress)
  • All of them can be downloaded at https://www.acb.org/2026-acb-dc-leadership-conference.
  • In addition, the Imperatives are now available for your listening pleasure on ACB Media 9 and as a convenient podcast. You can catch the imperatives being aired at the top and bottom of each hour on ACB Media 9. If you prefer on-demand access, the podcast is readily accessible here:https://pnc.st/s/acb-business/a379bab2/2026-acb-legislative-imperatives.

DC Leadership Conference

ACB’s 2026 Leadership Conference will once again be a hybrid event. The optional tour, ACB’s Board Meeting, Presidents’ Meeting, Legislative Seminar, and Capitol Hill visits will take place between Friday, March 6th, 2026 and Tuesday, March 10th, 2026, at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, VA. The registration fee for in-person attendance is $115, while registration for those wishing to participate virtually is only $30. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about what ACB is doing at the national level to promote independence, employment, and full inclusion for individuals who are blind or who have low vision. To learn more, go to: https://www.acb.org/2026-acb-dc-leadership-conference