Press Play with Madeleine Brand
A fight to restore voting rights for disabled in California
Former NPR producer David Rector has a traumatic brain injury after suffering a stroke seven years ago. He now has the condition known as “locked-in syndrome”: he can’t move his limbs, and he can’t talk, but he is mentally competent. He thinks, feels, and expresses emotions.
By Madeleine Brand • • 1 min readFormer NPR producer David Rector has a traumatic brain injury after suffering a stroke seven years ago. He now has the condition known as “locked-in syndrome”: he can’t move his limbs, and he can’t talk, but he is mentally competent. He thinks, feels, and expresses emotions. But five years ago, a judge ruled that because of his condition, he’s not allowed to vote. Rector appeared with disability advocates at the State Superior Court in San Diego Tuesday to ask that his voting rights be restored, and for people like him to be notified that, because of a new California law, they too could now be allowed to vote.
