Can a Family Member Help a Elderly Relative in Helping Them Vote?
Aid Elderly Loved Ones Exercise Their Right to Vote
The right to vote is one of those rights that an American citizen never loses, fifty-fifty if he or she resides in a long-term intendance facility. Unfortunately, many older people who are receiving care at nursing homes or assisted living communities aren't always able to exercise that right. They may be intimidated past the thought of getting to the polls and potentially waiting in long lines. Some might even wonder whether, every bit long-term care residents, they're still allowed to vote.
Sometime age and physical frailty don't have to be barriers to the voting process. If your loved i is living at home or with relatives, requesting an absentee by-mail ballot may be the all-time grade of action. In Tennessee, you can request an absentee past-mail service election if you lot're age 60 or older, dealing with a hospitalization or physical disability and can't admission the polling place, or you're providing care to someone who is hospitalized, ill, or disabled.You'll need to submit a written request to your local election commission by post, fax, or email. The request must be received by your local election commission no later than 7 days before the election. July 30th is the asking deadline for the August half dozen, 2020, state, and federal primary and county general ballot.
If your loved i is living in a nursing homes, assisted living communities or some other long-term intendance facility, what can you do to make sure they are able to exercise their right to vote? Many states (including Tennessee) have instituted accommodations for elderly voters unable to get to the polls. Fifty-fifty if mental or physical limitations make it difficult for residents of long-term care facilities to appear in person at a voting location, they can nonetheless cast their ballots. Thirty-two states accept statutes that specifically accost voting by residents of nursing homes or long-term intendance facilities. Mobile polling, too known as supervised absentee voting, is the most common form of help, permitted past statute in 23 states. These efforts are conducted in the residential facility, by a bipartisan team of workers trained by local election officials. Some states decide where mobile polling will be offered based on the number of people who have requested absentee ballots, and others on the number of registered voters in residence.
In many long-term care facilities, staff members find out which residents want to vote. They then contact the local Election Commission to request absentee ballots for those residents. If residents needed assist completing the absentee ballots, staff members aid then render those ballots to the Election Commission.
In some facilities, residents cast their votes during the early voting menstruum preceding each ballot. The Election Commission contacts their facility and lets them know when a representative will be coming to the facility to facilitate the onsite voting process. The facility has a list of residents wishing to vote ready for the Election Commission representatives when they arrive. A private area is ready and ballot officers come to the facility and offer one-one-one assist to residents.
When information technology comes to making voting easy and convenient for residents, follow-through is disquisitional. It is of import that the facility know which residents want to vote and then they can get the absentee ballots to them in a timely way. And it's of import to annotation that every long-term care facility handles the process differently. Some facilities make an extra effort to go out the vote and others practice very fiddling to help residents practice this important correct. Many times it falls to the family or the resident to brand those wishes known and request help.
If your loved ane is in a long-term care facility, inquire about the ways the facility supports residents' right to vote. The most proactive facilities typically do the following:
- Help residents register to vote
- Help residents get absentee ballots or coordinate onsite voting during the early voting period
- Host debate watching events
- Host political discussions
- Provide transportation to the polls
- Provide information on upcoming elections and candidates
- Distribute sample ballots to familiarize residents with voting procedures
- Mail service reminders about registration deadlines
Nosotros applaud all these efforts and believe it'south vitally important that every citizen accept the opportunity to make their voice heard. If you lot are concerned that a loved one who lives in a long-term care setting may not be able to exercise his or her constitutional right to vote, contact your local Long-term Intendance Ombudsman at www.ltcombudsman.org/ombudsman for assistance. To learn more most who is eligible to vote absentee by-mail or to find your local election commission, visit GoVoteTN.com.
Source: https://www.tn-elderlaw.com/free-resources/blog/july-2020/exercising-the-right-to-vote