Osaka District Court rejects disabled man’s request to vote with help from own assistant

Written with extracts translated from Jiji Press via Yahoo! Japan

February 28th 2020

TOYONAKA, OSAKA Pref – A lawsuit seeking 1.1 million yen from the government and the right to vote by a handwritten voting via a chosen assistant, was dismissed by the Osaka District Court on February 27, stating that the provision would not violate the Constitution.

Yasuhiro Nakata, 47, of Toyonaka City, Osaka, who finds it difficult to write due to disabilities, stated that the provisions of the Public Election Law, which limits voting assistants to polling clerks, are unconstitutional.

The presiding judge ruled that “it is reasonable to limit assistants in proxy voting to voting clerks.” He pointed out that he was politically neutral and confidential, and that he could avoid undue pressure and interference from others.