CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Cioanca, Antonia Alexandra |
|---|---|
| Title | Disenfranchising the Absent: Reframing the Discussion about the Voting Rights and Voting Competence for Persons with Severe Psychosocial and Intellectual Disabilities |
| Summary | In most countries in the world, provisions in domestic law restrict legally incapacitated citizens from voting due to their cognitive impairments which affect decision-making capacity. Practices in court assessments and guardianship proceedings do not rely on any standardized testing criteria that look at cognitive requirements for decision-making in voting, and this largely exposes persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities to discrimination stemming from the use of discretionary criteria which, as I argue, are unfairly burdening citizens whose right to vote rather gets to be negotiated. There is no threshold of voter competence for disabled or non-disabled citizens, nonetheless restrictions are in place as such a cut-off point exists for everyone. As the aim of this right deprivation is to avoid harms to the integrity of elections, I contend that it is essential to address considerations on voter competence which do not accommodate, at the moment, people who are affected by disenfranchisement. Not every citizen will be able and/or willing to vote, but there is a great difference between interest and choice to vote and the imposition of a ban on active suffrage because of fears which are to a high extent fueled by no evidence for its legitimate aim and the lack of opportunities that would promote independence in decision-making and ‘valid political opinions’. The review of legislation aims to uncover such interpretations and the grounds of disenfranchisement by concentrating on ideas of voter competence. |
| Supervisor | Toka, Gabor |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/cioanca_antonia.pdf |
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