Mastering the meaning of a ballot at a village for adults with disabilities

Residents of the Perach Community Village for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in central Rosh Ha’ayin have been practicing for this week’s national election at an accessible on-site voting station.

About half of the village’s 208 residents aged 21 and above have been learning about the right to vote and the political system and parties.

According to Yafit Bargig, who directs the 110-dunam (27-acre) closed campus, 25 to 30 residents will be able to choose a party independently on Tuesday and carry out the necessary physical tasks.

The Perach Community Village, funded by the Welfare Ministry, is operated by the Perach special education network. The village combines residential care with medical support and treatment, occupational and creative workshops, and sporting facilities.

The right to vote is universal for all Israeli citizens aged 18 and older, even if they have a disability.

Bargig said national service volunteers had integrated the election into a broader campaign about the meaning of choice as it applies to actions as basic as choosing what to wear, what to eat from the menu, or what to do during the day.

“We showed them the faces of each party’s representatives, and exposed them in a broad fashion to what the prime minister does, what elections are, how often they’re held, what a mandate is, how many people will be elected, and more,” Bargig explained.

Some higher-functioning residents were more aware of developments in the wider world than others, Bargig continued. “They know there was a war, for example, or who Bibi (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) is, but not in the way that you or I would understand it,” she said.

She added, “I would have preferred to do a project to choose the next outing rather than the next government.”

But Bargig said it was important, if complex, for the staff to help residents exercise their electoral rights.

“We’re very careful to educate them, and not direct them,” she stressed.

“Some of our residents have been here for 40 years and voted multiple times. This doesn’t mean their understanding is deep. In a previous election, one resident put several parties’ tickets into the same envelope. His vote was probably disqualified, but he felt he had exercised his right.”

In previous years, Bargig said, family members and guardians were allowed into the voting booth to help. This will be prohibited on Tuesday. Residents will enter the booth alone. If they need physical help, a campus staff member or election official may assist.