Mental illness and voting

Should the mentally ill be allowed to vote? Shrink Rap has issues with this:

Can I cringe long and hard now? The mentally ill shouldn’t vote? What’s a mental illness? Anyone who’s had an episode of depression or mania? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? How about those panic attacks? And we can’t figure out at what instant someone with dementia becomes unsafe to drive, how do figure out the instant at which they should stop voting? Anyone confined to a psychiatric facility? Anyone getting disability payments for a psychiatric disorder?
Dumb people can vote. Illiterate people can vote. Republicans can vote. Ugly people can vote. Why should the mentally ill have a standard different from anyone else’s?

Comments

Anonymous
Right before voting day during the last Presidential election, a 20 year old co-worker said to me…”Well I know Im not voting for Bush, my Dad would have a fit, I’m voting for the other guy” I responded, “So you’re going to vote for Kerry?” Her response…”Who’s Kerry?” How can people vote for someone when they dont even know their name?
Anonymous
Thanks for the morning dose of political vitriol Shrink, Were you aware of the fact that DEAD people vote Democrat all the time? I guess that shows where your sympathies lie. No wonder you advocate the mentally ill voting.
Anonymous
certainly noone shoudl take the right to vote away from anyone. except a convicted FELON who LOSES his right to vote. If you are suffering from a mental illness or dementia. you still have a right to vote. i cant see how anyone could bring this up at a topic. maybe they need to be evaluated for a mental illness themselves. to think that a trained professional woudl recommend against this basic civic right is outrageous. noone does any damage by voting. many of the disabled community have relevant issues they want to vote on. they deserve representation. kevin. i dont kown why you would put this topic up on a medical blog.
Anonymous
Anon 10:15 has a clearly disjointed and incoherent argument. His use of spelling and grammar are atrocious. It probably originates from the mind of a mentally disturbed person who should not be voting.
Anonymous
Yeah anon 9:35 kind of like those invisible people that voted republican in ohio and florida the last election.
Anonymous
My own opinion is that not one who gets a check from the government other than for services rendered or ordinary retirement should be allowed to vote. If a person is unable to run their own affairs sufficiently to support themselves, then they are unable to run the affairs of the country.
Anonymous
The fewer people vote the better, we have too much democracy for our own good. We need to go back to limiting suffrage to financially self-suporting heads of households.
Anonymous
there are 400 million americans. there are probably at least 20 million or more who have been to a psychiatrist. if they are severely mentally ill, i woudlnt bet on them to show as a voter… but who is to say that someone with “depression” or anxiety should not be able to vote? and what damage woudl it do?
Anonymous
Those “invisible” people in Florida were only visible in the minds of the Jesse Jacksons, the Al Sharptons and other assorted crazies in the polity.
Whereas, it’s rather easy to prove that dead Democrats have repeatedly voted in elections. Or int he case of Florida, that live ones have voted several times in the same election (i.e. New York snowbirds).
Anonymous
No one does any damage by voting? (anon 10:15) Huh? Threat to “themselves or others?” Mental fitness should have always been a criteria for voting- but perhaps it’s too late.

Mental illness and voting

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