“You Can't Vote—You're Mentally Incompetent”: Denying Democracy to People with Severe Disabilities

Abstract

Voting represents, arguably, the most important right and responsibility of a citizen in a democracy. Nevertheless, few adults are with an intellectual or developmental disability vote, and few are provided systematic instruction on voting or how to participate in the political process. Regrettably, 44 states have disenfranchisement provisions that prohibit many people with an intellectual disability from voting. These state provisions are in conflict with federal laws, which mandate that citizens with disabilities are guaranteed the same rights as citizens without disabilities. This study is a preliminary investigation of the perspective of a sample of support personnel regarding the value of voting for people with an intellectual or developmental disability and the extent to which they have provided voting instruction to their clients. The findings revealed that very few clients vote, are registered to vote, or are provided any instruction on how to vote or be informed about voting positions. The implications of the findings are discussed, and futures areas of research are suggested.