Can a Mental Health Consumer Vote?

Yes. Yes. And again, yes.

Mental health consumers, regardless of whether they live in a hospital or in the community, have the right to vote - with a few exceptions:

• If you're not a citizen of the United States, you can't vote here.
• If you’re younger than 18, you can’t vote yet.
• If you haven’t lived in your current state and county for at least 30 days, you can’t vote there., but you can still vote in your old county. So if you’ve moved recently, make sure you’ve re-register with your current address by Monday, October 6th.
• If a judge has ordered that you are mentally incompetent AND unable to vote, you can’t vote. That’s not the same thing as being in a hospital. Even if you are currently being treated in a hospital, you have the right to vote unless a judge has ordered that you are incompetent AND unable to vote. And if you’re managing your mental illness in the community, with family, friends, or just on your own, you have the right to vote.
• If you are serving a sentence, or if you are on parole or probation for an indictable offense, you can’t vote. However, if you’ve served your sentence or are no longer on parole or probation, you’ve re-earned the right to vote.

And how do I find out about the candidates?

This might be easier than it sounds.

First of all, for every seat we’re voting for this November, there’s someone who already holds that seat in Trenton. And most of them are seeking another term, so we call them the incumbent candidates.

For incumbent candidates, you can pay attention to MHANJ’s Cutting Edge, which often cites exemplary public service by existing legislators. Or you can observe which legislators receive awards from mental health advocacy organizations, such as MHANJ, NAMI-New Jersey, or the NJ Association of Mental Health Agencies.

During the budget battle last year, MHANJ’s Government Affairs department visited with all of the leaders of New Jersey’s legislature and our efforts to award them for their service are revealed in our publications, on our website, and through the events we host.

Another way to learn about candidates is to check the website of the New Jersey State legislature, www.njleg.state.nj.us. This website lists the supporters of all current legislation, so you can check whether your candidate supports a bill that you believe is important to mental health consumers.

For example, let’s say you feel strongly that our legislators should make progress with providing more housing alternatives for people with disabilities. By reading the Cutting Edge, you learn that MHANJ supports and has been fighting for passage of an Assembly bill, number 2543, that would allow municipalities more power to renovate abandoned properties.

In your web browser’s address field, you would simply type: www.njleg.state.nj.us. You would then go directly to the site of the New Jersey State Legislature. On the right side of the screen, you’d see an area that allows you to search for bills. In the number field, you would simply type A2543. Then you’d see a summary of that bill’s name and purpose.

If you clicked on the bill number once more, you’d see the names of all the legislators who currently support, or sponsor, the bill. If your incumbent candidate is among those listed, you’d automatically know he or she supports that bill, and possibly other housing-related bills.

On that screen, you’d also see a notation if the bill had a companion in the Senate, so you could see if the Senator in your district supports the Senate version of that bill.

Another direct way to learn about candidates is to ask them specific questions about mental health advocacy. Since every candidate has a campaign headquarters between now and Election Day, you could start by phoning your county election clerk to get the address and phone number.

In your call or letter, introduce yourself and explain that you’re a mental health consumer advocate. Ask the candidate the questions you have about his or her level of support for issues, such as housing, parity, treatment, welfare reform, or whatever you think is most important.

Here are some questions that we at MHANJ ask candidates when we’re trying to learn what we can expect from them. Feel free to borrow any of them:

1. What is your vision of the mental health system in New Jersey? How do you foresee funding in your reforms and initiatives.?
2. Do you have any experience, either personally ( a family member, friend, etc.) or professionally with people with mental illness?
3. Most of the mentally disabled people in New Jersey’s communities are living in either substandard housing (e.g., group homes and boarding homes) or are indeed homeless. What steps will you take to support funding for community-based, mental health supposed housing?
4. What steps will you take to increase employment opportunities for people with mental illness and promote awareness among potential employers of the abilities these individuals possess?
5. What commitment do you plan to make to children with mental illness?
6. What changes would you make to improve access to treatment for persons with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse?
7. Do you support insurance parity for mental health treatment?
8. We’re worried that today’s jails are becoming the new "institutions". What will you do to improve the system so that consumers get treatment instead of punishment?