States tackle question of who is too mentally impaired to vote.   The New York Times (6/19, Belluck) reports that a "growing number of states" are grappling with "the question of who is too mentally impaired to vote. The issue is drawing attention for two major reasons: increasing efforts by the mentally ill and their advocates to secure voting rights, and mounting concern by psychiatrists and others who work with the elderly about the rights and risks of voting by people with conditions like Alzheimer's disease and dementia." Some state "skirmishes involve efforts to ease restrictions, while others involve specific cases that compel officials to clarify old laws. And with research showing that many people with dementia or other impairments vote or want to, there is also a desire to ensure they are not pressured to vote certain ways." This summer, recommendations for national standards "will be released by a group of psychiatrists, lawyers and others led by the American Bar Association, suggesting that people be prevented from voting only if they cannot indicate, with or without help, 'a specific desire to participate in the voting process.'"