Here are a few views from several countries on Voting Rights & People with disabilities:
Autism & Oughtisms
Today I came across a story from Minnesota, where voting rights for the mentally disabled has become a hot topic. Currently the law there presupposes their right to vote, unless a judge determines otherwise. There is a movement – and a legal challenge – that would like to see the presumption go against those existing rights; specifically that those under guardianship should not be allowed to vote unless a judge rules otherwise.
Besides the questions this raises about discrimination and any legitimate reasons for excluding a group of people from voting, it made me wonder what the situation was here in New Zealand. Do we also take away people’s rights to vote if a judge says so, solely on the grounds of intellectual or mental disability? The answer appears to be “no:” In New Zealand, people excluded from voting (besides those who are under 18 or do not qualify as citizens in the relevant sense), are only those who are either currently in prison, or “who have been in a psychiatric hospital for more than three years after being charged with a criminal offence.” This website further explains the relevance and function of this exclusion:
Next dispute: Should all the disabled have voting rights ...
The summer of Minnesota's discontent over voting rules has spun off a related fight: whether disabled people who cannot handle their own affairs should ...
Disability Scoop shared a link.
Voting Rights For People With Disabilities Questioned - Disability Scoop
www.disabilityscoop.com
With the presidential campaign season heading into high gear, concerns are being raised about whether all people with disabilities should have the right to vote.
Voting-rights debate sets off alarms among disabled people and their advocates
"I want to vote," said Dave McMahan, a 61-year-old military veteran with mental illness who lives in a Minneapolis group home and has his affairs controlled by a legal guardian. "I've been through sweat and blood to vote. I don't want my rights taken away, because I fought for my rights here in the United States and expect to keep them that way."
At stake are the voting rights of an estimated 22,000 people whose affairs are controlled in varying degrees under guardianships. Under current law, they retain the right to vote unless a judge takes it away. That presumption, and its apparent conflict with the state Constitution, has been questioned in the lawsuit and in debate at the Legislature earlier this year.
At stake are the voting rights of an estimated 22,000 people whose affairs are controlled in varying degrees under guardianships. Under current law, they retain the right to vote unless a judge takes it away. That presumption, and its apparent conflict with the state Constitution, has been questioned in the lawsuit and in debate at the Legislature earlier this year.
Lawyer Robert McLeod, a guardianship expert who helped write the current law, argued against Kiffmeyer's bill and against the court petition.
"We're talking about taking a fundamental liberty and stripping it from 22,000 people," he said.
While abuse may occur, he said, that does not justify penalizing the disabled people who may be victimized.
Brian Erickson, a 40-year-old Army veteran, is another of Grisham's guardianship clients who has a mental illness. ..., who lives his life by the orderly schedule worked out by his guardians and Veterans Affairs.
He didn't want to give up his right to vote. "As a vulnerable adult, the only way we can speak is by voting. I don't want them making laws that take that right taken away from me," he said.
"disAbilityVOICE - Disability Rights Advocate" (in the UK) Getting Voting Rights - http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/living/features/getting-voting-rights/
People have fought and died for it. Governments constantly tell us it’s a right ...
Polls Apart campaign - http://www.timetogetequal.org.uk/vote
we should exercise. So why is voting so difficult for so many disabled people. Paul Carter investigates...
Polls Apart campaign - http://
Polls Apart: Opening elections to disabled people
... to improve accessibility For all disabled people to vote independently and in secret, real change is needed – a wider range of ...
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Thanks for sharing.