For Immediate Release: Monday, Aug. 23, 2004

Contact: Christopher Burley, Bazelon Center, 202-467-5730 x 133 or e-mail leec@bazelon.org OR Margaret Jakobson, PAI, 619-239-7861

Veterans’ Affairs Opens Doors to Voter Registration, Education Efforts

Disability Rights Advocates Hail Voting Rights Victory

Bazelon Center Voting Issues Page Protection and Advocacy, Inc.

(Palo Alto, CA)— Local officials last week agreed to allow advocates for people with disabilities to conduct voter registration and education activities at the Veterans' Administration Medical Center campus in Menlo Park, reversing an earlier position advocates believed to be discriminatory.

“The VA’s arbitrary position would have denied hundreds of veterans a crucial link to the democratic process,” said Jennifer Mathis, a staff attorney at the Washington-based Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. “Eligible voters with mental or physical disabilities shouldn’t be consigned to the margins of America’s political culture—They deserve a voice.”

The VA Medical Center campus contains a 150-bed skilled nursing facility, a 125-bed nursing facility for older veterans with mental illness, a 50-bed facility for women with post-traumatic stress disorder, 62 psychosocial rehabilitation beds and a 100-bed domiciliary for homeless veterans.

Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI)—a California legal organization that represents people with disabilities—made anonymous investigatory calls and was informed by the VA that only the League of Women Voters was allowed to enter facilities to register residents to vote, and that residents with conservators would not be permitted to register, regardless of their competence.

“The VA’s stated position was overbroad and on the wrong side of the law,” said Margaret Jakobson, of PAI. “A conservator can be appointed for many reasons—that doesn’t mean that a person shouldn’t be allowed to vote.”

Under federal and state law, P&A, Inc. has the authority to investigate rights violations and advocate for people with disabilities. Under the Help America Vote Act, the organization also has the responsibility to ensure full electoral participation—including registering to vote, casting a vote and accessing polling places—for individuals with disabilities.

PAI and the Bazelon Center, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California and the ACLU’s National Voting Rights Project, were prepared to go to court if PAI was not allowed entry to the facilities to register eligible voters and conduct voter education trainings.

“This is a question of fairness,” said Mathis. “People with disabilities who are eligible to vote—and especially those who are veterans—deserve access to the ballot.”

“We’re glad the VA has opened its doors to allow us to help people participate in the political process,” said Jakobson. “Limiting voter registration was just one more obstacle on the way to the ballot box for a group that has historically struggled for political representation.”

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The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is a national legal advocate for people with mental disabilities.

Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI) is a California legal organization that represents people with disabilities.