Timothy Carey has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, leaving him unable to move his body. He needs the assistance of a private nurse within his home, so leaving his home is extremely challenging, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
He still has the right to vote. The 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th amendments to the Constitution all establish that the right of everyone 18 years of age and older “shall not be denied or abridged.”
A recent ruling by a Waukesha County judge threatens Carey’s ability to exercise that right.
In a 4-3 ruling in February, the Wisconsin Supreme Court let stand Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren’s decision that says voters cannot give their absentee ballots to another person to mail or to hand over to an election clerk.
Carey, who lives in Grand Chute near Appleton, would need to bring a portable ventilator and, in his words, a “boatload of gear” to get to the polls. Voting in person would increase the possibility of his catching COVID, which because of his disability could kill him. “It will basically make it impossible for me to vote,” he said.
People should not have to risk their lives to vote.
We have come a long way from the fearful situation we were in two years ago this week. Vaccination against COVID-19 has been available to nearly every adult for almost a year, so we believe there are far fewer people who can — or, at least, who should — be able to claim “indefinite confinement” than there were during the 2020 elections.
But people with substantial physical disabilities should be able to claim it.
The lawsuit over returning ballots was brought in 2021 by two men represented by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty. “The rule under state law says ‘by the elector,’ so the elector has to be the one to mail their ballot or deliver it to the clerk,” said their attorney, Luke Berg. “They can’t hand it off to somebody else to do it for them.”
Berg noted there are programs to help disabled and elderly people vote, the Journal Sentinel reported. Poll workers typically visit nursing homes to assist residents to vote; those would be the Special Voting Deputies that have been in the news recently.
Clerks allow curbside voting for people who can’t get easily get out of a car. In some cases, letter carriers will pick up and deliver mail to the front door instead of a mailbox at the end of a driveway if the recipient has a medical condition.
The state high court is expected to decide by this summer what the rules will be for the Aug. 9 primary and Nov. 8 general election, when residents of the Badger State will vote for governor, U.S. senator and other offices.
In that decision, the state Supreme Court must make clear that accommodations are required for people like Timothy Carey. The Constitution says his right to vote shall not be denied or abridged.
Editorial link: https://journaltimes.com/opinion/editorial/journal-times-editorial-disabled-peoples-right-to-vote-must-not-be-restricted/article_eefb33be-aee5-11ec-a36c-c39d6368f074.html
No comments:
Post a Comment