The sheer number of people with disabilities makes them an important voting block, researchers say, but turnout among the group is severely lagging.

In 2008, voter participation among people with disabilities was 11 percent lower than that of typically developing individuals, according to a new study.

“Fully closing the disability gap would have led to 3 million more voters in 2008 and 3.2 million more voters in 2010, potentially affecting many races and subsequent public policies,” the report published in the journal Social Science Quarterly found.