WP: Dementia & the Voter Research Raises Ethical Constitutional Questions

[arwalden]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18916-2004Sep13.html

Dementia and the Voter
Research Raises Ethical, Constitutional Questions

By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 14, 2004; Page A01

Florida neurologist Marc Swerdloff was taken aback when one of his patients with advanced dementia voted in the 2000 presidential election. The man thought it was 1942 and Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. The patient's wife revealed that she had escorted her husband into the booth.

"I said 'Did he pick?' and she said 'No, I picked for him,' " Swerdloff said. "I felt bad. She essentially voted twice" in the Florida election, which gave George W. Bush a 537-vote victory and the White House.

As swing states with large elderly populations such as Florida gear up for another presidential election, a sleeper issue has been gaining attention on medical, legal and political radar screens: Many people with advanced dementia appear to be voting in elections -- including through absentee ballot. Although there are no national statistics, two studies in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island found that patients at dementia clinics turned out in higher numbers than the general population.

<SNIP>

Concern is growing that people with dementia may be targets for partisan exploitation in nursing homes and other facilities. Even without abuse, family members and caregivers may unduly influence close elections.

<SNIP>

Advocates such as Mathis say that disqualifying groups of voters usually leads to discrimination. Paupers, slaves and women were once ruled incompetent to vote -- and recent scrutiny of people with dementia has led to allegations of abuse.

<SNIP>

Rafferty said that most of the residents were of sound mind -- and that most were Democrats. He charged the Bush administration with suppressing Democratic turnout. The Department of Veterans Affairs said it was protecting patients and was required by law to keep out partisan activity.

[whistle]

1. Essentially this is what many republicans are doing when they...

...cast their vote for for a moron like George W Bush. Suppose that was a minority person who was taken to the polls to vote. Would that person have been given similar consideration?

P.S. Do the registrations records disclose party affiliation on the printed lists at the polling stations that authorities check?

[Rose Siding]

2. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=825095

[Moderator]

3. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=825095