General Right to Vote
Constitution:
Article IV, section (3) states, "(1) Elections of members of the
Nitijela shall be conducted by secret ballot under a system of universal suffrage
for all citizens of the Marshall Islands who have attained the age of 18 years,
and who are otherwise qualified to vote pursuant to this Section."
Exclusion Based on Mental
Disability
Constitution:
Article IV, Section 3, subsection (2) states: "No person shall be
qualified to be a voter if (a) he is certified to be insane
"
Electoral Law:
(1980)
Article 5, section (1) states: "In accordance with
the Constitution
of the Marshall Islands, all citizens of the Republic who have attained the
age of eighteen years other than persons who (a) are certified to be insane
have
the right and the duty to vote in elections of members of the Nitijela."
Article 74 states: "A voter who is blind or otherwise, by reason
of some physical disability, unable to mark his ballot paper without assistance
may
have the assistance of a person chosen by him in marking his ballot paper."
Off-Site Voting Alternatives
Electoral Law:
(1980)
Article 61, section (1) states: "A registered voter who is (a) prevented
by illness or physical disability from attending a polling place in order to
vote in an election
may apply for a postal ballot paper."
Postal voting is described in detail in Articles 61-64.
Article 67 states: "The regulations may prescribe special procedures
to enable voters who are (a) inpatients at a hospital or members of the staff
of a hospital
and who would otherwise be required to vote in accordance
with the preceding provisions of this Division, to vote at the hospital or institution
or on the vessel, as the case may be, and for the delivery of the ballot papers
to the Counting and Tabulation Committee."