Unless a patient has been adjudicated incompetent, no patient may be denied the right to:

1. (1) dispose of property, real and personal;
2. (2) execute instruments;
3. (3) make purchases;
4. (4) enter into contractual relationships;
5. (5) hold a driver's license;
6. (6) marry or divorce;

7. (7) be a qualified elector if otherwise qualified. The county board of voter registration in counties with Office of Mental Health facilities reasonably shall assist patients who express a desire to vote to:

   1. (a) obtain voter registration forms, applications for absentee ballots, and absentee ballots;
   2. (b) comply with other requirements which are prerequisite for voting;
   3. (c) vote by absentee ballot if necessary.

HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 127, SECTION 1.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, certain references in the S.C. Code to the State Department of Mental Health, South Carolina Mental Health Commission, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Commission, Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and other related terms were changed to reflect the restructuring of these agencies into component offices under the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, pursuant to 2025 Act No. 3, SECTION 18.