This report addresses the denial of suffrage to mentally disabled persons institutionalized in Pennsylvania. The case study of Pennhurst Center patients who tried to vote in the 1976 election is described. Pertinent Pennsylvania statutes and current voting practices are analyzed. A national overview of the problem along with community and institutional attitudes toward voting by the mentally handicapped are discussed. State directives in support of voting rights of institutionalized Pennsylvanians and guidance to election officials and institutional administrators are outlined. Recommendations are made to institutions concerning how to assist in all aspects of the voting process, how to decrease community hostility toward mentally disabled voters, and how to help insure legal voting rights of institutionalized persons. (WI)