Irene Moore is almost a century old, partially blind, nearly deaf and suffers from severe memory loss.

She lives in a Scarborough nursing home, where she doesn’t watch television, listen to the radio or read the newspaper.

Still, ever a committed citizen, she voted in the municipal election last week.

“I voted for somebody,” she recalled, donning an elegant black hat and sitting in the dining room of her nursing home on Friday.

“I just don’t know who.”

Extendicare Guildwood, where Moore lives, is one of 101 long-term care facilities that hosted voting stations during the Toronto election.

By law, the City of Toronto must provide accessible voting stations to the disabled, chronically ill or infirm. They provide special accommodations through “voter assist terminals,” which use touch screens and audio, at some voting locations. And they send election officials room to room for patients at health-care facilities.

When a voter is unable to read or fill out a ballot on their own, voting officials can assist them. The voter must agree to an “oath” that they require help. The officials are sworn to secrecy.

That’s what appears to have happened with Moore. But the mother of four — and grandmother and great-grandmother to more than she can count — is not entirely sure.

“Well, we were told we were going to vote,” she said of Election Day. “And that’s okay, you know. I wasn’t happy about it. It made no difference to me.

“Had to wait a long, long time though,” Moore went on, a soft Newfoundland accent betraying her East Coast childhood. “But we got it done all right.”

Lynne Deragon-Moore, her daughter-in-law, thought it was cute at first. But then she became concerned that Moore could have been manipulated.

“How on earth did she vote? She can’t see. She can’t hear.”

“She’s a remarkable woman,” Deragon-Moore said. “But it made me think — what are the rules here?”

Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said the onus is on government to remove all barriers for voting.

“Every citizen in Canada has the right to vote — that includes the disabled,” he said.

Wiseman said the courts take a broad, inclusive attitude toward a citizen’s right to vote. Their state of mind doesn’t come into play.

“Do we want to have a means test?” he quipped rhetorically. “Maybe we should only allow literate people to vote. Maybe only graduates of universities should vote. Maybe only members of the Order to Canada should vote.”

Moore is a slight but proud woman. She has a sweet smile and frail, gentle touch. She says things like, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” And, immediately, you want to call your grandmother to tell her how much you love her.

But for everything lovely that Moore is, she’s at a place in her life where things like gravy trains and streetcars simply do not register.

She had no idea who was running in the election.

Still, she waited in her wheelchair at the voting station. When she was given something to sign, she did so without question.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The candidates’ names were read. She didn’t recognize any, but chose one regardless.

“Whatever,” she smiled, with a flare of political wit. “It makes no difference.”

And, technically, the law agrees.