DEMENTIA CARE: SCRIBBLES ON A FORM TO REDUCE SCRIBBLES ON A FORM.

This is the electronic world, for the most part.
   There are dusty cobwebs waiting to snare us, though, and those involve signatures.
   As I don't scribble this, we've just gone through a General Election no one wanted. That gave us a result no one wanted, but never mind all that.

Anyway. To save the cared-for that hassle of going to vote in person, I arranged postal voting. There was the option to request a waiver for the signature section, but I felt all was well on that front.

   If I had to, I'd arrange that at a later date.

   As I don't scribble this, we've just gone through a Local Election. That was fine. I assisted the cared-for in preparing to vote. It is illegal to vote for anyone else, but you can provide a degree of assistance in the run-up...

Assistance involves handing over a pen and a piece of blank paper and trying a dry-run of all the things that need to be written on the voting paperwork.

   For postal votes, the signature on the form is compared against the one held on record after making the initial application.

   Absolutely fine. At the Local Election. I'd decided that the Local Election would be the last one with a signature. Plenty of time to put in the paperwork requesting an update and a signature waiver.

But then the surprise General Election was called, and suddenly THAT would be the last one with a signature. I didn't want to put the paperwork in ahead of the election - don't overcomplicate things, right?

Fuck.

I provided the usual level of assistance. Blank paper. Pen. Test signatures. But the arthritis finally took its toll on the signature, and this was the most frustrating hour I think I've had this year.

   It vies with a flat-out refusal to wash hair one awkward night. Sometimes, dementia is six years old and has a temper.

In the end, the signature was done over the course of a minute, mocking the 59 numbing minutes leading up to that point. With the signature recognisable as a signature, we moved on to the form itself and that signature was done inside a minute as well.

Suspense.

No mistakes on the form. Job done. Election done. With that formality out of the way, we moved to obtaining a no-signature waiver.

   A signature is fine. The arthritis doesn't prevent a signature. And the dementia doesn't impede a signature. Dementia plus arthritis won't destroy a signature.

   BUT.

   Dementia and arthritis do affect a signature comparison. The signature provided is checked against the official record held by the voting office.

   And that causes friction. Hassle. Difficulty. Signatures become scribbles.

So.

The waiver form comes out. I can assist in filling out this form, but I don't write on it. Instead, I let the cared-for do all of that stuff. This gives a sense of independence to an act that takes away hassle. Give choice when you can. Don't take choice away.

Ticking a few boxes - check. Writing date of birth at the bottom of the form - check. And the job is done.

   I take the postal voting paperwork seriously - lots of preparation, scribbles on blank paper sheets. No guiding hands. And no impersonation. I read the instructions several times over, and relay the information...

That level of planning remains. Now, though, we won't waste an hour working on a signature that matches an official entry in a dusty ledger.

Thank fucking fuck for that.