Parent of Mentally Disabled Son offerred Payment to Vote in Newport Oregon

Newport News Times | Feb. 1, 2003

[oceanperch]

Parent of second Shangri-La client says son offered money to register to vote By Joel Gallob Of the News-Times The mother of a second mentally handicapped Lincoln County resident asserted this week that Shanrgi-La corporation inappropriately induced her son to register to vote on Ballot Measure 28.

She said her son, age 23, is diagnosed as autistic, and does not follow politics. She said he can read, but noted that his comprehension of what he reads is modest at best. He is, however, a whiz at Nintendo games and good with computers in general, and worked at a video store and a library before working at Shangri-La. His mother, who asked that her identity and that of her son remain anonymous, said her son's intellectual age is less than half his actual age.

The young man has been at Shangri-La for more than two years, and does the same work that Marge West - another mentally handicapp0ed Shangri-La client who was registered to vote by the social services corporation without notice to her parents - has been doing, shredding paper and bundling wood.

"He told me he would get more money because he registered," the man's mother said. "He doesn't understand the issues and can't interpret them. We've had legal guardianship of him since he was 18 because he is not legally competent.

"He was told by someone, I don't know who, on the staff that he would have more money for Nintendo games if he would register to vote," she said. "He doesn't know if it was to vote yes or no."

One or more persons at Shangri-La, she said, "must have told him to do it, and they must have filled it out for him." The mother gave two reasons for that; one is that he would not have misspelled his name the way it was misspelled on the registration form, and the other was that the young man could not, on his own, have negotiated filling out the voter registration form.

The young man did not vote, she continued, "because I called the county clerk and said I was concerned about this because I knew my son would not register without my help or knowledge." She said County Clerk Dana Jenkins pulled the registration card at her request.

She said she was given no notice of the voter registration by Shangri-La. "As his guardian, I should be participating in things like his registering to vote, and in any pay issue," she said.

Calls to Shangri-La's manager at the Newport office, and to the organization's chief executive officer in Salem were not returned as of press time Thursday.

The young man's mother added that she has called the Oregon Secretary of State's office to report what she believes is a violation of law.

The relevant piece of Oregon law, ORS 260.665, prohibits "undue influence to affect registration, voting (and) candidacy" in elections. It includes in its definition of undue influence "giving or promising to give money, employment or other thing of value."

"I do not think there was any malicious intent," said the mother, but she believes both undue influence and a failure to respect her and her husband's status as the legal guardians of the young man occurred. "Anything anybody did, they probably thought they were helping him, and were not informed of what the law was and what to do, and someone wanted to go and help them rather than finding out what the law said.

"I think there was no evil intent, but a fault of administration to not research the proper procedures in helping somebody do the right thing in following them," she concluded.

Shangri-La corporation is a private firm that provides housing for special needs individuals in Newport, Lincoln City, and Salem, as well as job-seeking and services and in-house employment to handicapped individual, under contract with the Lincoln County Department of Health and Human Services.

[oceanperch]

Good for this mom!

[oceanperch]

CHeck this out. Maybe this would be interesting to ping.

[gop_gene]

Hmmm . . . And I bet whoever was paying him to vote wouldn't try to influence him in any way whatsoever which way to vote? Right.

Not the same exact situation, but this reminds me of a situation in 2000. My cousin works at the post office and she, as well as the other workers, were told by the higher-ups (more like practically threatened) that if they voted for G.W. and not Gore, they would lose their jobs. Of course like a mindless robot-fool, she got scared and did as told. I have since wised her up and she voted gop in the past election :-)

[holyscroller]

Up here in Washington, absentee ballots for Alzheimer patients and others who are "out of it" are regularly voted for many who live in homes for seniors and handicapped. Invariably it's Democrats behind it. Once in a while they get caught. Wish it were all the time.

[nitetrax]

Oh terrific. Someone who is supposed to be "helping" has found a new way to exploit the disabled.

And they had no intention of influencing his vote either.

Please ...

[nitetrax]

You know (OT) in the State of Georgia, it's illegal to vote if you've been dead more than three years.

[pepsionice]

I wouldn't say always Democrat. I have a friend who's uncle in Texas got two older relatives their absentee vote packages and both of the older relatives were fairly 'lost'. The uncle marked a straight Rep ticket. His wife got all upset about this act and made it a big issue.

I think its time we all come to grasp that some kinda of mental exam or test is required in order to vote. I know that everyone will say that this could be bent one way or the other. But I am tired of having this issue constantly come up. Based on current law, you could have over 100,000 mentally insane citizens of the US vote in national elections. What does this say for our society?

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[oceanperch]

Where as when my son who thrives on the political areana registered as a Repub. was active when health was better had to go thru the hassle of why his signiture varied. He is a quad. cerebral palsy with a very high IQ. Gee I wonder if he could get in trouble for influencing the rest of the county to vote he goes out and reminds everyone to vote. LOL The younger adults who say they want to vote but do not know or have time to sign up my son says he is going to start carrying cards to get them registered.

[oceanperch]

These services for the disabled are so socilistic that we stay far away from them. They do not want to offer a service they want to have the families they serve be mentally enslaved.

[holyscroller]

Good to see you're still alive and kicking OceanPerch. Just one suggestion for your son. Tell him to make darned sure the people he's going to register are Republican or Conservative before he registers them. I had a grandson "go bad". He took up with a Democrat girlfriend and suddenly was spouting the Rat party line. I listened about as long as I could, and then asked "Are you two registered to vote?" They said "No" and I said "Oh, that's too bad, you just missed the deadline." (I could have still registered them, but who add more votes to the wrong side of the ledger?)

Why help "Stinkin Thinkin" translate into votes?

[Jeff Chandler]

I think its time we all come to grasp that some kinda of mental exam or test is required in order to vote.

 

Here ya go:

 

[GermanBabies]

Do I stick my finger or something else in the hole?

[karo_80]

Dear Holuscroller,
I think this is a wonderful idea. I'm a 22 yr old with a Traumaric Brain Injury (TBI) and have alot of problems myself. Voting is important and essentoal tp everyone.

[Thommas]

Shangri-La corporation is a private firm that provides,... under contract with the Lincoln County Department of Health and Human Services,...a safe voting block of democrat operatives who are either dead, mentally disabled, incarcerated, convicted felons, or capable of bilocation.

Sadly, as unsurprising as this story is, as often as it is repeated in different forms and guises after an election, the dems and their useful idiots continue to get away with this fraud. This is typical of the morality of the democrat party - victory by any means is just and honorable.

[jmaroneps37]

Hmm, I wonder whichparty they were trying to register him into?

[WaterDragon]

Of course we aren't surprised that the Democrats are determined to disenfranchise us, but thank heavens for this mom's refusal to allow her son to be exploited.

It's a silly mistake to assume that physically disabled folks are mentally incompetent, just as it is barbaric to take advantage of those who truly are mentally disabled.

What it all means is that we can't take our liberties or our rights for granted.....ever! Have to keep on our toes.

[FreedomPoster]

I voted on similar ballots (you punch it with a small metal stylus, GB) here in GA for almost 20 years. I had no problems, and I still don't trust the touch-screen setup we used in the last election, which leaves no audit trail and doesn't allow a recount.

I guess I pass the test ;-)

[oceanperch]

It is the very sector (libs) that do beleive physically disabled people are mentally challenged also.

It is so frustrating we have dealt with these frame of mind people for-ever. I just can tell the way they respond to Chris that I am dealing with a lefty.

I do not even try to rationalize with them anymore it is to frustrating we can interact with the rest of the world.

[WaterDragon]

Liberals do not believe they need to take reality in consideration, and they are far too intelligent and highly moral to need the "crutch" of truth.

Exploiting people is their "right" because of their superiority.

In any case, their condescension toward your son is exactly the same as their condescension toward all conservatives (who they consider ignorant, mentally and morally challenged, etc).

I think it is imperative that we not be passive about these people. They are dedicated to remaking this country into another France or Sweden.