(Madison) – The Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD)80 affirms the following:
- People with intellectual and other cognitive disabilities who are citizens of Wisconsin have the right to vote unless they have legally been declared incompetent AND have had their voting rights taken away in court.
- Family members, friends and others do not have the right to assess whether a person with a disability is capable of voting.
- The pandemic created unprecedented challenges and it was important to ensure that care facility residents were not disenfranchised.
- Repeated investigations of the 2020 election have concluded that it was safe, secure, and accurate.
- As policy makers review election administration, these investigations must also examine if voter rights are protected, including to what extent election officials across the state are complying with laws that protect the rights of voters with disabilities and older adults, and that ensure the accessibility of our elections.
- No one should ever experience coercion or interference in casting their vote; Those concerns should be promptly reported when they occur and investigated by the district attorney or other law enforcement.
BPDD welcomes the opportunity to work with legislators to advance policies to make our elections more accessible and that protect the voting rights of Wisconsinites with disabilities.
