Voting rights of adult wards

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The patient must be judged to have insufficient capacity to make decisions, not just "have dementia."

The right to vote for adult wards

In May 2013, the Act for Partial Revision of the Public Offices Election Act, etc. for the Restoration, etc. of the Voting Rights of Adult Wards was enacted and promulgated (effective June 30, 2013).

As a result, adult wards will have the right to vote and be elected for elections to be announced and published on and after July 1, 2013.

In addition, in order to ensure the fair conduct of elections, the amendment also establishes provisions that limit the persons who should assist the elector in casting a ballot by proxy to those who are engaged in clerical work related to voting, and obligate them to make efforts to ensure fair implementation of absentee voting, such as having an outside observer present for absentee voting at hospitals, nursing homes, etc. In addition, the provision of obligation to make efforts to ensure fair implementation of absentee voting, such as having an outside observer present, was established.

https://gyazo.com/60658704e0baab28ef291d8fd6212d6b

Please be careful when voting!

The elector must either write the name of the candidate he/she wishes to vote for on the ballot himself/herself or tell the proxy voting assistant (voting clerk) and the assistant will confirm his/her intention and write it on the ballot for him/her.

In addition, a person other than the adult ward himself/herself, such as an adult guardian or a family member, may not vote on behalf of that adult ward.

This treatment is not limited to adult wards, but also applies to persons with dementia or intellectual disabilities.

(The same treatment is applied regardless of the revision of the Public Offices Election Law.)

So people with normal dementia had the right to vote normally before the amendment.

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