The right to vote of persons with disabilities: an analysis from the Social Model of Disability

Argentina has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Law 26,378), enshrining its comprehensive protection and establishing a “social model” when conceptualizing disability. This model abandons the system of substitution of decision-making, promoting autonomy and self-government. However, the Argentine Electoral Code (CE) excludes people with mental disabilities from the right to vote. In the decision H.O.F, dated 06/10/18, the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJN) understood that “the declaration of incapacity does not entail the automatic restriction to the right to vote, according to the social model of disability”. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the reasoning of the CSJN and its implications when interpreting the CE, and to contrast this analysis with the philosophical-political principles that emerge from the protective norms and the social model of disability.