Alzheimer's, dementia patients struggle at ballot box.

Byline: Diane C. Lade

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Jacqueline Levesque, in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, no longer drives. She is unable to sign her name.

But last week, assisted by a poll worker, she cast her ballot for president.

"You could tell she was afraid they would tell her no, she couldn't vote," said daughter Joceline Braddock of Lake Worth, Fla., who accompanied her 79-year-old mother to an early voting location. Braddock's husband, John, 57, has dementia from a work-related brain injury; he voted, too, several days later, with his wife's help.

It's impossible to tell how many voters with dementias like Alzheimer's will cast ballots in this election. But one thing appears certain: Their numbers are increasing and will continue to grow, as Americans live longer and the baby boomers age. Talking to 101 Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers immediately following the 2000 election, researchers at Brown University found 60 percent of them had voted.

There are an estimated 4.5 million people nationwide with the disease, projected to grow to 15 million by 2050. Florida _ a volatile key swing state in this and the last presidential race _ is home to 400,000, according to the national Alzheimer's Association.

But are all of them qualified to vote? If not, at what point do they lose a Constitutional right? How is this potentially vulnerable group protected from being improperly influenced or defrauded when making their choices?