Do persons with dementia vote?

This article addresses an emerging policy problem in the United States participation in the electoral process by citizens with dementia. At present, health care professionals, family caregivers, and long-term care staff lack adequate guidance to decide whether individuals with dementia should be precluded from or assisted in casting a ballot. Voting by persons with dementia raises a series of important questions about the autonomy of individuals with dementia, the integrity of the electoral process, and the prevention of fraud. Three subsidiary issues warrant special attention: development of a method to assess capacity to vote; identification of appropriate kinds of assistance to enable persons with cognitive impairment to vote; and formulation of uniform and workable policies for voting in long-term care settings. In some instances, extrapolation from existing policies and research permits reasonable recommendations to guide policy and practice. However, in other instances, additional research is necessary.

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Addressing the Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Raised by Voting by Persons With Dementia

Karlawish

Bonnie

Appelbaum

et al. 2004

JAMA

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Voting and mental capacity

Redley

Hughes

Holland

2010

BMJ

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Dementia, sexuality and consent in residential aged care facilities

2012

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Sexual self-determination is considered a fundamental human right by most of us living in Western societies. While we must abide by laws regarding consent and coercion, in general we expect to be able to engage in sexual behaviour whenever, and with whomever, we choose. For older people with dementia living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs), however, the issue becomes more complex. Staff often struggle to balance residents' rights with their duty of care, and negative attitudes towards older people's sexuality can lead to residents' sexual expression being overlooked, ignored, or even discouraged. In particular, questions as to whether residents with dementia are able to consent to sexual activity or physically intimate relationships pose a challenge to RACF staff, and current legislation does little to assist them. This paper will address these issues, and will argue that, while every effort should be made to ensure that no resident comes to harm, RACFs must respect the rights of residents with dementia to make decisions about their sexuality, intimacy and physical relationships.

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Do persons with dementia vote?

Cited by 8 publications

References 7 publications

Addressing the Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Raised by Voting by Persons With Dementia

Addressing the Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Raised by Voting by Persons With Dementia

Voting and mental capacity

Dementia, sexuality and consent in residential aged care facilities

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