So this is an interesting one for me. I worked with mentally handicapped adults for years, and here in texas at least, if they were able, they could vote.
What happened often was that they voted for who their caretakers insinuated they should vote for, and were taken advantage of in that regard. It wasnt what they wanted, they just did what they were told.
But, to counter that point, the same thing happens to perfectly compitent adults through societal pressures, cultural influence, and media coverage. It may not be what they really want to vote for, but these influnces direct their vote.
Its been established that poll restrictions based on literacy are unconstitutional since 1965. But there is some nuance.
Where is the line drawn for disadvantaged or mentally handicapped adults? Convincing chuck, 35 and on a 4th grade reading level, to agree with me and vote how i want is one thing. physically guiding the hand of and checking a box for sharon, a 40 year old with the mind of an infant, seems to be two different parts of a spectrum that blur the line between acceptable and immoral. Its fairly easy to distinguish those extremes, but there is in fact a line somewhere in between.
So this is an interesting one for me. I worked with mentally handicapped adults for years, and here in texas at least, if they were able, they could vote.
What happened often was that they voted for who their caretakers insinuated they should vote for, and were taken advantage of in that regard. It wasnt what they wanted, they just did what they were told.
But, to counter that point, the same thing happens to perfectly compitent adults through societal pressures, cultural influence, and media coverage. It may not be what they really want to vote for, but these influnces direct their vote.
Its been established that poll restrictions based on literacy are unconstitutional since 1965. But there is some nuance. Where is the line drawn for disadvantaged or mentally handicapped adults? Convincing chuck, 35 and on a 4th grade reading level, to agree with me and vote how i want is one thing. physically guiding the hand of and checking a box for sharon, a 40 year old with the mind of an infant, seems to be two different parts of a spectrum that blur the line between acceptable and immoral. Its fairly easy to distinguish those extremes, but there is in fact a line somewhere in between.