I currently live in England and recently I was very surprised to learn that in 2006 an Electoral Administration Act was passed which abolished the law that had not allowed people with certain mental deficiencies to vote.

Thus, the "mentally disabled" are now able to participate in the electoral process. The term "mentally disabled" includes adults with Intellectual Deficiency Disorders (IDD) like Down Syndrome and what was referred to by psychiatrists in the past as Mental Retardation; it also includes those whose cognitive abilities are materially impaired such as persons with schizophrenia or some other form of psychotic disorder. In the UK, even persons who are detained in mental institutes are granted permission a right to temporarily leave the hospital in order to vote in person or post by proxy.

I cannot understand why such persons should be granted the right to vote. What possible arguments could there be for extending suffrage to adults who lack a normal capacity for rational thought?

Regards

Dachshund