Mentally ill deserve voting rights, advocates say
- From: rpautrey2 <rpautrey2@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2008 20:17:39 -0700 (PDT)
Mentally ill deserve voting rights, advocates say
Story Highlights
State advocates help those with mental disabilities register, vote
Critics say that allowing outsiders to help could influence votes
All but 11 states have laws limiting voting rights based on competence
Expert says mentally ill have more at stake because they rely on
government
RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- Clyde Hoy has missed only one election. It
was 2002, and the manic depression he had battled for nearly 20 years
had taken hold again, landing him in a state psychiatric hospital.
"I wanted to vote, but I felt that I didn't have any right at all,"
said the 48-year-old. "I asked, and nobody gave me an answer. There
wasn't an option."
Advocates are working to change that with a nationwide effort to make
sure those with mental disabilities know their rights and exercise
them on Election Day.
For months, state advocates have visited psychiatric hospitals,
nursing homes and other facilities to help those with mental
disabilities register to vote or fill out absentee ballots. But others
are concerned that allowing outsiders to help -- whether assisting
with ballots or driving voters to the polls -- could subject people to
undue influence.
Members of both parties often accuse opponents of trolling for votes
in hospitals and nursing homes, notorious places for voter fraud. A
former Pennsylvania congressman was convicted in 1998 of filling out
absentee ballots in the names of nursing home residents, and similar
accusations often surface at the local level.
"They have a right to vote, but it is highly unethical for anyone from
any office, state or otherwise, to go into these facilities
unrequested by the patients or family members, to help them vote,"
said Republican Virginia Sen. Steve Martin. "If they were competent to
do it, they wouldn't be needing this help anyway."
But advocates say that kind of thinking has stigmatized the mentally
ill for decades and highlights the importance of reminding them -- and
election officials -- of their rights.
All but 11 states have some type of law limiting voting rights for
individuals based on competence.
More than a dozen states prohibit individuals deemed incompetent or
under a guardian's care from voting. Another 20 states ban voting only
if a court has determined that the individual specifically lacks the
capacity to vote.
Laws in some states still bar voting by people referred to using
outdated terms such as "idiots" or the "insane," but those are rarely
enforced.
"Everyone assumes that if you're in a mental hospital, you're totally
out of it, you're not functioning at any level, which is just not
true," said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability
Rights Network.
Advocates said those in psychiatric hospitals and other facilities
often are more in tune with what's going on in elections because they
have more time to watch television, read newspapers and research the
candidates.
They also have much more at stake, because they often are dependent on
the government, said Jennifer Mathis, deputy legal director of the
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.
"It's very frustrating to see situations where they're barred from
voting on issues that have such an impact on their life," Mathis said.
In 1998, election officials in New Jersey refused to count ballots
from residents of a state psychiatric hospital unless the voters could
prove that they were competent, which later was ruled
unconstitutional.
Election officials in Virginia interpreted the law to say that only
people with physical disabilities could cast absentee ballots. A
lawsuit led to that law being expanded this year to include mental
disabilities.
The Bazelon Center cites a recent study of Philadelphia nursing homes
that revealed residents were denied the right to vote because staff
members did not think they were competent, even though there is no
voter-competency requirement in Pennsylvania law.
In states that do limit voting based on competence, that determination
is left up to the courts, not poll workers or service providers.
"The thing we are nervous about is if we get all these people excited
and get them to polls, are they going to be in any way intimidated,
turned away or challenged? That can be a pretty daunting experience,"
Decker said.
For years, disability advocates focused their attention on the
barriers to voting for the physically disabled, such as making polling
places accessible.
Only recently, and with the help of federal funding, did advocates
focus on the mentally disabled. Candidates, Decker said, have ignored
them for years.
"Part of the problem is that we haven't proven that we are a voting
block to be reckoned with," Decker said. "People go after the Hispanic
vote, they go after the black vote, but people haven't figured out
that people with disabilities are very dependent on government
programs and have an interest in who's running the government."
Hoy now works for a peer group and helps with the recovery program at
Western State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in the Shenandoah
Valley. He said that helping patients get registered to vote can go a
long way in their recovery.
"A very simple thing like voting means a lot to people who have given
up, who just feel like here's another thing taken from me," Hoy said.
Hoy said he is looking forward to voting again Tuesday. He only hopes
the lines won't be too long.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/31/mentally.ill.voting.ap/index.html?eref=rss_health
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