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By
Bryan O'Malley,
MHVEP Education Campaign
Manager
Throughout
the history of our country, the vote
has stood alone as the means by which
disenfranchised individuals could
empower themselves and force elected
officials to pay attention to the
issues that are important to them.
Whether the group has been women,
African-Americans, Hispanics, or gays
and lesbians, elected leaders were
forced to pay attention once these
populations organized themselves into
a body that was educated and would
vote.
Individuals
living with mental illness represent
our nation’s largest minority.
One in five Americans is estimated
to be living with some form of mental
illness, and yet our leaders still
refuse to pay attention to the issues
that are important to us. Why? Because
we do not vote.
Contrary
to popular belief, politicians do
not represent the needs and wishes
of all of their constituents. They’d
like to, but there is an old maxim,
“You can’t please all
of the people all of the time.”
If making a decision means angering
a non-voter at the expense of pleasing
a voter, they will anger the non-voter
every time.
To
gain the attention of politicians
and policymakers we need to ensure
that, as a population, we vote. That
is what the Mental Health Voter Empowerment
Project (MHVEP) was established to
do. Founded by consumer-advocate Ken
Steele in the early 1990s, the program
seeks to register consumers to vote,
to educate themselves about the issues,
and finally “Get Out The Vote”
on election day.
What
to tell them if they say you can’t
vote
Tell
them they are wrong. The fact is,
in New York State, there are very,
very specific rules as to when your
right to vote can be taken away. The
two main reasons are:
-
Mental
incompetence, or
-
Felony conviction.
The
primary reason that you may be unable
to vote is that a court has said you
are mentally incompetent. This
does not mean you have been found
to be mentally ill by a court.
A determination of mental incompetence
means that a Court of Law has said
you are unable to adequately conduct
your own personal business.
If
they question whether or not you are
“mentally competent”,
think about your own treatment. If
you have signed any paperwork
regarding your treatment, then you
are not mentally incompetent.
Mental
incompetence indicates that you are
unable to handle your own affairs
and therefore cannot sign a legal
contract. Signing your treatment plan,
or any other treatment related paperwork,
represents the signing of a legal
contract.
If
you have been mandated into treatment
by a court, through Kendra’s
Law or some other form of mandated
treatment, you are still eligible
to vote. These court decisions have
nothing to do with mental incompetence,
and cannot remove your Constitutional
right to vote.
The
one instance where court-mandated
treatment can result in one losing
the right to vote is if you have been
mandated into treatment as part of
a sentence for a felony offense. It
is important to note here that, in
this instance, your disenfranchisement,
or the loss of your right to vote,
is not related to your mental illness.
Every individual in New York State
currently serving time for a felony
offense is unable to vote. Once your
sentence is completed, you regain
the ability to vote.
Your
right to vote may only be revoked
for a felony offense. Being found
guilty of a misdemeanor does not lead
to disenfranchisement.
Otherwise,
as long as you are properly registered
to vote (see below), they are wrong!!!
“I
can vote, now what?”
Having
the right to vote does not amount
to anything unless it is used. In
general, this is an easy process;
but, there are a few simple ground
rules.
GET
REGISTERED
The
first step in voting is registering.
This is simple. Get a Voter Registration
Form, fill it out, and mail it in.
It is likely that your local MHA will
have registration forms. If not, your
local library or post office will
definitely have them. If you have
Internet access, you can go to the
New York State Board of Elections
Website, at www.elections.state.ny.us,
or at the MHVEP website, at www.mhanys.org/mhvep.
When
you are filling out the form, you
will be asked to provide several pieces
of information about yourself. This
includes your name, your address,
and your Driver’s License number
or the last four digits of your Social
Security Number. These are for identification
purposes only, to prevent voter fraud.
Your driver license number or the
last four digits of your Social Security
Number will be kept private.
Further,
due to recently passed laws, if this
is your first election voting, you
will need to show some form of identification
when you arrive at the polls. This
is to prevent fraud. A Drivers License
or Social Security card will definitely
be acceptable. If you do not have
either of these readily available,
please call your local Board of Elections,
as the acceptable forms of identification
will differ based upon the county
in which you live.
In
order to retain your ability to vote
in each election, it is important
to keep your registration current.
Even if you just move to the apartment
next door, you have to let the Board
of Elections know. Otherwise, you
may not be able to vote in the next
election. Keeping your registration
information up-to-date is important
if you want to keep voting. Doing
so is easy, all you have to do is
file another voter registration form
when you move, and check the box “address
change.”
Keep
in mind, there are deadlines before
each election as to when you have
to register to participate in that
year’s election. For instance,
to vote in the 2004 General Election
(in November), you need to register
to vote by October 8.
GET
EDUCATED
Once
you have registered to vote, it is
time to educate yourself. It is important
that you take time to learn about
the candidates and their stances on
the issues, especially those which
are important to you. A good voter
understands the candidates and the
issues when they go into the voting
booth, even if they do not necessarily
know for whom they are voting.
Information
about candidates is available through
many sources. Your local newspapers
will generally provide information
about every candidate before an election.
Candidates will make (biased) information
readily available to registered voters.
The Board of Elections will be able
to provide you with information about
the offices that are up for election
in a given year, and the names and
political affiliation of each person
running for that office in your town.
There
are also a number of organizations
that will provide you with information
about candidates. For instance, MHVEP
provides voters with a Voter Education
Guide that provides information about
all candidates on the state level
(this will be made available as the
election nears). Groups such as the
League of Women Voters also are a
good source for non-partisan information
about candidates. If you have access
to the Internet, www.vote-smart.org
is a non-partisan organization that
provides voters with resources to
make educated choices come election
day.
Another
good way to learn about the candidates
is to attend events where the candidates
will be speaking. Candidates are VERY
visible in the time before an election.
Go hear them talk and learn what they
have to say. If you have a particular
question, ask. The worst thing that
can happen is they do not answer it.
VOTE
You’ve
registered, you’ve gotten to
know the candidates; now you have
to make sure you get out and vote.
In
the weeks before the election, you
should receive a post card from the
Board of Elections letting you know
where and when to vote. If you do
not receive this card, and you do
not know where to vote, call the local
Board of Elections and they will be
able to tell you.
If
your polling station is too far from
your house, and you do not have access
to a car, there are organizations
that will drive you to the polls.
In some instances, your local MHA
may organize trips to the polls. Other
times, candidates will. If you need
assistance getting to the polls on
election day, ask your local MHA for
assistance. If they are not offering
rides themselves, they can probably
put you in touch with people who are.
If
you know in advance that you will
be unable to get to your polling place
on Election Day, due to illness, travel,
or some other reason, you can obtain
an Absentee Ballot, which allows you
to vote by mail in advance of the
election. Contact your local Board
of Elections to get an Absentee Ballot
request. If you choose to vote by
Absentee Ballot, you cannot vote on
Election Day.
It
is important to know your rights once
you are at the polling place. You
have the right to enter the voting
booth by yourself, unless you wish
to bring someone in with you to provide
assistance. You have the right to
bring whatever materials you like
into the voting booth with you. You
can take as much time as you need
to vote. Nobody can rush you. Finally,
your vote is your business. You can
tell someone who you voted for if
you want to, but nobody can make you.
Remember,
due to new laws intended to prevent
voter fraud, you will be required
to show identification of some sort
if this is your first time voting.
A Driver’s License or Social
Security Card will definitely be acceptable.
If you do not have either of these
available, call your local Board of
Elections in advance of Election Day
to make sure you have I.D. that is
acceptable, as this will vary by county.
One
Person Becomes a Movement –
The Mental Health Voter Empowerment
Project
Yes,
one person can make a difference.
As
Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt
that a small group of committed individuals
can change the world, indeed it is
the only thing that ever has.”
But
when that small group becomes a movement
- a large group of people all fighting
for the same thing - it is amazing
and impossible to ignore. This is
where the Mental Health Voter Empowerment
Project enters the picture.
The
goal of the Mental Health Voter Empowerment
Project is simple: to register individuals
living with mental illness to vote,
educate them about the issues that
are important to them, and then make
sure that they vote. The program acts
in a non-partisan manner to make sure
individuals with mental illness vote.
BEGINNING
The
first step to getting involved in
MHVEP is finding one to get involved
in. If there is not a local MHVEP
in your area, start one; it is really
easy. All you need are voter registration
forms, MHVEP membership forms, and
a large number of unregistered individuals
living with mental illness. MHVEP
can provide you with the first two
materials - it is up to you to find
the voters.
Make
sure you tell MHANYS you are starting
a chapter in your area. We can provide
you with technical support. Plus,
in order to help build our power statewide,
we need to have centralized records.
Send your new MHVEP memberships to
us, so that they can be entered into
the database. This ensures that all
the MHVEP members you sign up will
enjoy all the benefits of membership.
It also ensures that the program realizes
its potential in affording the mental
health community greater public understanding
and acceptance.
Once
you have your materials and a pool
of potential voters-to-be, set up
a chair and a table in a visible location.
To get attention, you may want to
have a sign or some other resource
that draws attention to you and what
you are doing. This is not hard; you
do not need professionally drawn signs.
A marker and paper should serve your
purpose.
While
making your sign, it is important
to remember the golden rule of MHVEP.
The Mental
Health Voter Empowerment Project is
non-partisan. This
means we do not, and can not, support
any particular political party or
candidate. So, when you make your
sign, keep this in mind.
If
there is already an MHVEP in your
area, we still need you. MHVEP relies
upon volunteers to function. The more
volunteers we have, the better the
program is. Consumers who recognize
the importance of voting, and who
want to make sure that others participate
in their democracy, give the program
its strength and allow MHVEP to grow
and thrive. We need YOU!
To
find out if there is an MHVEP in your
area, or to learn more about starting
an MHVEP, contact Bryan O’Malley
at MHANYS at (518) 434-0439, ext.
29, or ask about it at your local
MHA.
NEXT
STEPS
Once
you have registered to vote and joined
MHVEP, talk to your friends, family,
and peers and get them to register
to vote and join MHVEP.
Next
to volunteering, the single most important
thing you can do to help build MHVEP
is to spread the word. Tell your friends,
family and peers about the project.
Make sure that they are registered
to vote, and let them know about MHVEP,
and why they should join.
One
great way to build the program is
to send a letter, or an e-mail, to
everyone you know letting them know
about MHVEP and why you joined. Include
a voter registration form and a MHVEP
sign-up sheet. If you arew communicating
by e-mail, include a link to the MHVEP
website. Encourage people to sign
up.
If
you don’t feel comfortable doing
this yourself, give the names to other
people. Local MHVEP volunteers may
be willing to reach out on your behalf.
No matter how you do it, building
the program is the only way to help
ensure its long term success.
Keep
in mind, while MHVEP targets mental
health consumers, ANYONE is welcome
to join. We encourage everyone who
cares about the mental health system
to become a MHVEP member. In this
way, we can truly demonstrate the
importance of mental health issues
to elected officials. Do not be shy
in whom you tell about this program.
Consumers, family, friends, health
providers and many other folks have
a huge variety of reasons to care
about mental health.
It
is also very important to keep in
mind that a person does not join MHVEP
just by registering to vote. They
have to fill out a separate MHVEP
membership form as well. This ensures
that people know they are signing
up for the program, in addition to
registering to vote. Also, make sure
they know membership to MHVEP does
not carry any necessary burden. Make
sure they know there is no cost, no
commitment, and no obligation. Make
sure they know they do not have to
vote for a particular candidate (remember,
MHVEP is non-partisan, we can’t
tell them who to vote for even if
we wanted to). Let them know that
while we appreciate volunteers (and
economic help), it is not necessary
and they are free to choose to participate
in whichever way they feel most comfortable,
even if it is just getting out to
vote on Election Day.
If
someone tells you they are already
registered, let them know that they
can still join MHVEP. Also, ask to
make sure they are registered at their
current address.
Remember,
always send in the
forms you collect to the appropriate
offices. When people register to vote,
or sign up for MHVEP, they will expect
you to follow through. If someone
registers through you and does not
get to vote, they may never participate
again. It is crucial that you always
send in your voter registration forms
to the Board of Elections (addresses
available on the back of the Voter
Registration form) and send in your
MHVEP forms to the central MHVEP office
at MHANYS (194 Washington Ave., Suite
415, Albany, NY 12210).
Sending
MHVEP forms to the MHANYS Central
Office will allow you to help grow
your local Chapter by allowing you
to focus your limited resources on
registering new people, while we do
the data entry. Because MHANYS has
the capability to maintain a centralized
list of all MHVEP members, we are
able provide you with lists of all
members in your area, not just those
you sign up. Having the program centralized
also allows us the ability to assess
the program’s power at the state
level, so that we can have an impact
on policies and programs that are
made here in Albany.
MAINTAIN
CONTACT
Once
someone has signed up for MHVEP, maintain
contact with them. Keep them informed
about what is going on with your local
efforts. This will give them a sense
of connection to MHVEP, and make them
more likely to go out and vote. Remember,
it takes a lot for people to get out
and vote for the first time, so the
connection you establish will be one
large aspect of determining whether
or not that person actually gets out
to the polls in November.
Staying
in touch might also get them to help
you. More volunteers makes the process
more fun. It also helps you get more
done.
The
best way to get people involved, and
keep them involved, is to keep it
fun. This should not be all work,
it should be fun too. You can do different
things to maintain contact while having
fun. Maybe have a pizza social with
all of the members of MHVEP (note,
food almost always attracts new members
as well), or have fun little outings
to the park, or some other place.
Another
great way to keep things fun while
maintaining contact with lesser involved
members is to organize outings. Maybe
a candidate is speaking at a local
forum, or the League of Women Voter’s
is holding a debate. This is an excellent
opportunity to reach out to your members
and get them together. It also lets
them know there are advantages to
being an MHVEP member, as they get
the information without having to
find it out themselves.
It
is also important to note that contact
should not just be made during an
election season. Contact should be
kept up year-round, so that people
know what is going on in the legislative
world. Remember, this is a never-ending
cycle where people vote for candidates
based on their positions, then the
officials are elected and go to Albany
or Washington and must hold true to
those positions, then people vote
again.
By
keeping people informed, you show
them the merit of MHVEP and help build
the program further.
“GET
OUT THE VOTE”
What
is a Get Out The Vote effort? GOTV,
as it is known, is simple. It is a
large effort by you and other volunteers
in your area to ensure that all those
people who are members of the MHVEP
get to the polls to vote. Usually,
GOTV takes place in the four days
immediately preceding an election
(Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday).
The
single most important thing to remember
during your GOTV activities is that
MHVEP does not care who our members
vote for, just as long as they vote.
With
that established, there are several
different ways to conduct a GOTV campaign.
The first method is phone calls. With
this technique, we use the phone numbers
people provided on their MHVEP sign-up
list to contact them in the days leading
up to the election. It is best to
set up a phone bank at a central location.
This way you can get people together
as a social event and collectively
make the calls while ensuring that
the list of members remains confidential
and is not exploited.
To
set up a phone bank, you will need
space and phones. Your local MHA may
be willing to donate phones. If not,
there is most likely some other local
space that would allow you and other
volunteers to use their phones to
call each of the MHVEP members to
remind them of the election and the
importance of going out to vote. The
most important part of setting up
a successful phone bank is doing it
in advance. If you try to do it at
the last minute, you will most likely
lack volunteers and phones.
When
you are making phone calls, have all
the election information in front
of you, in case the people you are
calling have questions. It is also
good to have the phone number of groups
offering rides to the polls, for those
who need one, as well as the local
Board of Elections, for questions
you can not answer.
It
is also important to once again stress
the golden rule of MHVEP here.
MHVEP is non-partisan and does
not endorse candidates. This
means that if, while you are making
phone calls, someone asks you who
they should vote for, you cannot make
a recommendation. What you should
say instead is that MHVEP is non-partisan
and cannot tell them who to vote for,
but it is vital that they get out
to vote. Offer them the MHVEP website,
www.mhanys.org/mhvep,
which will have the Voter Education
Guide. Otherwise, point them to local
resources which have information on
the candidates or provide them with
both candidates' positions
on any issues they inquire about.
A
slightly more expensive and less personal
way to conduct GOTV efforts is through
a mail campaign. Send postcards to
each MHVEP member before the election.
Remember though, this is not as personal,
so it will not have the same effectiveness.
You
can also go door to door to each MHVEP
member. This is certainly the most
time intensive method and with the
likelihood that your members are spread
throughout a large area, is most likely
not very time effective. Door to door
visits are good because they remember
the visit well, and you can answer
any questions or address any concerns
members have while you are in front
of them, which is more reassuring.
AFTER
ELECTION DAY
Remember,
MHVEP does not end on election day.
In order to keep building the program,
to keep building the movement, we
need to keep our activities up throughout
the year.
First,
keep registering people, and keep
signing up new members. The power
of our movement grows with each new
person we register, with each new
person that joins MHVEP. If we stop
registering new voters when the election
ends, we stop building our movement.
It
is also important that we keep educating
people. MHANYS works on a number of
legislative issues related to mental
health issues. MHVEP needs to continue
to reach out to its members to keep
them informed about what their elected
officials are doing for them in Albany,
Washington, or the local county seat.
This will allow us to hold our elected
officials accountable and let them
know that we are paying attention.
Finally,
keep recruiting new volunteers. Even
the most committed volunteers need
help. Eventually, you need a break.
You need someone to step up to pick
up the slack when you no longer can.
Plus, two people can do more than
one. Three can do more than two, and
so on. Keep spreading the word, keep
finding new volunteers, and keep growing
your movement. Then MHVEP will be
a force that can not be ignored.
Additional
training materials for the Mental
Health Voter Empowerment Project are
available upon request.
