Democratic Party (United States) but the name "Democratic Party" was eventually settled upon and became the official name in 1844. Members of the party are called "Democrats" or "Dems". The term "Democrat Party" has also been in local use, but has usually been used by opponents since 1952 as a disparaging term. The most common mascot symbol for the party has been the donkey, or jackass. Andrew Jackson's enemies twisted his name to "jackass" as a term of ridicule regarding a stupid and stubborn animal. However, the Democrats liked the common-man implications and picked it up too, therefore the image persisted and evolved. Its
Political positions of the Democratic Party Americans with Disabilities Act to prohibit discrimination against people based on physical or mental disability. As such, they pushed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, a legal expansion that became law. The 2012 Democratic Party platform believes the right to vote and to have ones vote counted is an essential American freedom, and oppose laws placing unnecessary restrictions on those seeking to exercise that freedom, such as voter ID laws. Many Democrats also support automatic voter registration, which ensures that all Americans over the legal voting age are registered to vote upon reaching the aforementioned age, and are never required