Helping Residents Vote

Helping Residents Vote

• The Kansas Ombudsman Program provided testimony earlier this year that started a mobile polling booth that will visit every nursing home in Kansas.  Each voting district will have one.
• The Ombudsman Program in Houston, TX created a resident guide to voting and facility best practices document that were delivered to each facility.  They also worked with the County elections office to produce a special brochure that covers ballots by mail; and set up a web site with voting related links. www.ombuddies.org.
• The Middle Alabama AAA Ombudsman program developed a booklet called “LTC Residents’ Right to Vote: Presidential Election 2008 (Equipping LTC Residents to exercise their right to vote)” and sent to every facility along with a packet of information with the candidates’ names, pictures, parties and stands on a variety of issues.  The packet included deadlines for applying to vote, applying for absentee ballot, etc., and copies of the necessary forms.  They’ve incorporated a “right to vote” emphasis in their Residents’ Rights in-services for facility staff, giving a case study and explanation about this particular right.  They also had the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program go to their Ombudsman Advisory Council (local) meeting to discuss the extent of the residents’ right to vote, including issues and rights of those with physical and mental disabilities.
• The Ombudsman Program in Santa Barbara County, CA was successful in getting voting sites within the long-term care facilities, with residents helping out.
• A few years ago, the Ombudsman Program in Memphis, TN contacted all the nursing homes in their area and made sure that the Election officials were bringing the mobile voting program to each one (usually happens prior to election day).  They also verified that the social workers were informing all residents who wanted to vote when the election officials would be there and that staff would assist residents who needed help voting.
• Georgia ombudsmen have assisted resident councils in inviting elected officials and candidates to speak at resident council meetings.
• The Connecticut Ombudsman program recently participated in a forum for assisted living resident at which the Deputy Secretary of State (on behalf of the Secretary of State) did a presentation on new voting ballots, new voting phone system, information on absentee voting, etc.  The same presentation is being held at a forum for skilled nursing residents.
• The Cleveland Ombudsman program partnered with law students to assist residents.

• Distributing information about registration, ballots, important dates, etc. to ombudsman staff and volunteers, residents, families, and facility staff and administration;
• Conducting educational or in-services sessions on voting rights with resident and family councils and facility staff;
• Getting nursing homes designated as official voting sites
• Working with Boards of Election to facilitate voting at long-term care facilities
• Encouraging staff to assist residents in registering to vote

Additional Information on Voting and Voter Assistance:

• The Veterans Administration (VA) has lifted its ban on voter registration activities in its facilities. Charlie Sabatino, Director of the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging, suggests that if you have a VA facility in your area, you should consider informing local election officials and nonpartisan groups who do voter registration about the end of this restriction.  Charlie Sabatino also points out that as of 2004, 23 states provided for election officials to actually go into nursing homes.  For more information on the VA policy, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1564.   You can find out if your state is one of the 23 by reading Charlie Sabatino’s article at http://www.abanet.org/aging/publications/bifocal/261.pdf.

• The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and the National Disability Rights Network have published a new voter guide for people with mental disabilities, as well as a flyer on the rights of voters with mental disabilities and a flyer on assisting votes with mental disabilities. To access the guides and flyers, go to: http://www.bazelon.org/issues/voting/index.htm.

• Long-term care consumers can learn more about presidential, congressional and state legislative candidates by going to a webpage on the Long Term Care Community Coalition website.  All you have to do is enter your state and the information you want.  Start by going to: http://nhccnys.capwiz.com/election/home/.