Today I had a long, challenging call with a constituent. We disagree on a lot and that's okay. It's my job to listen. But one thing that bothered me: she felt very strongly that developmentally disabled adults should not have guardians assisting them in the polling booth. 1/

She has worked as a poll watcher and believes these adults aren't voting of their own accord or are being taken advantage of for the purpose of getting more votes for one party. "They come in in a van in groups..." she said. 2/

She said that while she was told the voters had reviewed their ballots and made their decisions back at the group home and that the guardians were just there to assist them in marking their ballots, she did not believe them. 3/

My brother-in-law has Down Syndrome. My mother-in-law takes him to the polls, and assists him, to vote for who he wants to vote for. 4/

Every Michigander has the right to vote. Being developmentally disabled doesn't mean you can't make your own decisions and exercise that right.

I want to be very clear: needing assistance should never disqualify you from voting. Full stop. /5

Ok last thought: this constituent has deep distrust in our elections - we talked for over a half hour and went through many of her perceived weaknesses in the system one by one...so much so that she is actively looking for any and all areas to prove her feelings right.

Sowing distrust in our elections is dangerous. It creates a dangerous climate where, like this example, the most vulnerable are targeted as a weak spot, and as a result, there is pressure to deny their voices from being heard.

I don't blame this woman. But when the messaging is out there constantly that voter fraud is rampant and elections are rigged, good well-meaning people will buy-in and believe it to be true. It hurts our democracy and hurts the most vulnerable who end up as targets.