People with disabilities denied voting rights, group says
"Voting access is
a common problem for voters with disabilities face. However, voters with
intellectual or psychiatric disabilities face a particularly insidious barrier
to equal participation in the electoral process. These barriers take form in state
constitutions, state laws and election-day practices. The rationale for these laws
and practices is that voters with intellectual or psychiatric disabilities do
not understand the process or issues well enough to cast legitimate votes and
are particularly susceptible to manipulation. Of
course, many voters without intellectual or psychiatric disabilities cast votes
without being informed about the issues and without knowledge of voting
procedure; however these voters are free to exercise their franchise.
While states
have the ability to establish their own voting requirements, voting is a
fundamental right protected by federal law. However, neither federal law, nor the ADA
has sufficiently protected the voting rights of persons with intellectual or
psychiatric disabilities. There have been few challenges to this form of
discrimination in federal courts. Until state law is amended or federal law
forces the expansion of voting rights protection to those with intellectual or
psychiatric disabilities, the education and training of election officials is
paramount to ensuring election access to all voters with disabilities."
Source: "Voting Rights under the Americans
with Disabilities Act:Are People with Intellectual or
Psychiatric Disabilities Protected?" 2007
Authored by:
Michael J. King
Roufeda Ebrahim
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