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Because elections are administered by states, there is no national standardization of when someone with disabilities can be denied the right to vote/removed from the voting rolls

In some states, including Oklahoma, people who enter guardianships -- the type of agreements that allow the parents of someone with disabilities to oversee their medical care, for example -- can be automatically removed from the voter roles

This happened earlier this year to Kyle Keck. He's been voting for a decade, but earlier this year he was removed from the voter rolls. Because of his cerebral palsy, Kyle's father is his guardian. They were both shocked to find out this is how the law works

We reached out to each of the 39 states that have restrictions on voting rights for those deemed incompetent. We located at least 17,000 people removed from the voting rolls since the 2016 presidential election -- the data is far from complete and that is likely a deep undercount

Voting rights advocates say those with cognitive disabilities should, in most cases, be given access to the polls. Opponents cite the potential for fraud -- and point to the very small number of times that fraud has been committed this way