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Bahamas
General Right to
Vote
Electoral Law:
(15 January 1992)
See section 8, subsection (1)
Exclusion Based
on Mental Disability
Constitution:
(19 February 1973)
Article 42, section (1) disqualifies from appointments as Senators
any person who "
(f) is a person certified to be insane or otherwise
adjudged to be of unsound mind under any law in force in the Bahamas."
Article 48, section (1) disqualifies from membership in the House
of Assembly any person who "
(e) is a person certified to be
insane or otherwise adjudged to be of unsound mind under any law in force
in the Bahamas."
Electoral Law:
(15 January 1992)
Section 8, subsection (3) states, "For the purposes of this
Act, a person who is a patient in any establishment maintained wholly
or mainly for the care of persons suffering from mental illness or mental
defectiveness, or who is detained in legal custody at any place, shall
not by reason thereof be treated as a resident there."
Under section 10 "Legal incapacities of voters," subsection
(2), "a person shall be deemed to be suffering from a legal incapacity
and shall not be entitled to apply for registration as a voter in any
constituency or to vote at any election (whether registered as a voter
or not) -
(b) while he is deemed to be a lunatic or of unsound mind
by virtue of any finding or declaration under any Act
"
Voter Assistance
by Other Citizens
Electoral Law:
(15 January 1992)
Article 63 concerns voting by "incapacitated persons."
Section (1) states "the presiding officer, on the application of
any voter who is incapacitated by blindness or any other physical cause
from voting in the manner prescribed by this act and who takes and subscribes
an oath
in form O
and is accompanied by a friend, shall permit
such friend to accompany the incapacitated voter into one of the compartments
in the polling place and mark such voter's ballot for him, but no person
shall
be allowed to act as the friend of more than one incapacitated
voter."
Sections (2), (3) and (4) of the abovementioned Article 63 deal
respectively with the oath of the "friend," a list of incapacitated
persons kept by the presiding officer, and a statement that any "friend"
who breaches their oath "shall be guilty of an offence against this
Act."
Included are Form O "Form of Oath to be taken by Incapacitated
Voter" and Form P "Form of Oath to be taken by Friend of Incapacitated
Voter"
Included in list of equipment and personnel for a polling place
are three forms pertaining to people with disabilities: an oath to be
taken by "challenged voters", an oath to be taken by a blind
or incapacitated voter, and an oath to be taken by a friend of an incapacitated
voter. p 2
Promotes Access
Poll Worker Manuals:
Aids to Returning Officers, Presiding Officers and Poll Clerks in Holding
Elections (1992)
Included in the list of articles to be present at the polling station
is the "disabled list", referring to the list of voters who
are disabled in some way. p 3
Indelible Ink Excusal
Electoral Law:
(15 January 1992)
Under Article 59 "Voting procedure," the normal procedure
includes marking the right thumb of the voter with indelible ink. However,
subsection (d) of section (1) states that "if the person has no right
hand thumb or if for any other reason it is
not practical to mark
that thumb, the thumb of the left hand or such other finger as the presiding
officer shall direct shall be so marked or if
it is not practicable
to mark any finger of the person, that person shall be marked in such
a way as the presiding officer considers sufficient to indicate that a
ballot has been issued to that person."
Section (4) of the abovementioned Article 59 states that "where
the appropriate finder or any other finger which any voter may be required
to immerse in electoral ink is concealed or covered with any bandage or
other material, the presiding officer shall refuse to give to the voter
any ballet paper unless the voter either (a) removes such bandage
or
(2)
satisfies the presiding officer that he is suffering from injury to such
appropriate or other finger takes an oath to that effect in the prescribed
form and makes one or more impressions in ink on that form, as follows
(i) with his right thumb; (ii) with his left thumb, should he not have
a right thumb; or (iii) with any other finger, should he not have any
thumb."
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