by Jay S. Luxenberg, MD, FACP, AGSF

A few years ago I received a call asking me to participate in a symposium on facilitating persons with dementia voting. My first reaction was that this had to be some sort of joke. I was expecting some version of candid camera to jump out and surprise me. After some discussion I realized that the caller was serious, and that this was in part sponsored by the American Bar Association. The proceedings of this meeting were published and are available online at no cost: The University of the Pacific McGeorge Law Review Volume 38, Issue 4 (2016) Symposium: Facilitating Voting as People Age: Implications of Cognitive Impairment. Although all the articles are interesting, I would particularly recommend one by Nina A. Kohn, Preserving Voting Rights in Long-Term Care Institutions: Facilitating Resident Voting While Maintaining Election Integrity. It outlines responsibilities of long-term care facilities concerning voting rights. It highlights the use of technology to bring the voting station to the nursing home. It discusses isolated instances of nursing homes facilitating voter fraud. It clarifies the issues around determining capacity to vote – essentially, that is not the role of long-term care staff.

An article by Ted Selker, The Technology of Access: Allowing People of Age to Vote for Themselves elaborates on advanced technology to help dementia patients vote. I have to admit that after attending this meeting, my views on the intersection between voting and dementia changed – I now endorse the Recommendations of the Symposium. Take some time and read through this material before you make the same mistake I did, of treating voting rights of dementia patients to be some sort of joke. We in long-term care have an important role in helping our patients retain this aspect of their function as long as possible, just like we do with so many other aspects of function that maintain dignity and meaning in lives affected by dementing illnesses.

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