It seems inconceivable in the year 2020 that everyone in this country eligible to vote should not be able to do so easily. With technology as sophisticated as it is, voting should be a simple protected click of a button. Instead, barriers to voting for large portions of the population remain huge; Kaiser Health News reports that many older adults living in nursing and other living facilities may not be able to vote this November.
The novel coronavirus is keeping family members from visiting with their loved ones in nursing homes and other group home settings. That will make it harder for older adults to vote. Family members are often responsible for helping their older loved ones complete voting ballots. Moreover, COVID-19 will also keep group homes from establishing on-site voting precincts.
In some group homes, volunteers are assisting residents with voting by mail. But, this is not standard. And, it is generally not required. So, it seems more than likely that a smaller portion of older adults will vote in the upcoming election.
States can step in to require facilities to help older residents with voting. California’s Department of Public Health is telling facilities housing older adults that they must help their residents with voting. But, a lot of these facilities are short-staffed. And, even when there are staff, the staff might worry about being seen as influencing residents’ votes. Moreover, some states only permit bipartisan assistance teams to help people to vote.
Typically, more than 70 percent of older adults vote, as compared with less than half of young people between 18 and 29 years. old. Usually, there also are lots of voluntary organizations that assist older people with voting. In addition, candidates typically campaign at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. But, not during this pandemic.
In the past, congregate living facilities would either have voting booths on site or bus their members to a voting site. This time round, older adults might need to request an absentee ballot in order to vote.
If you or someone you love is not getting needed assistance to vote, contact the state’s long-term care ombudsman. Every state has one. The ombudsman provides free help and can work with the state’s Department of Public Health to see what help is available.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Help for people getting long-term care
- Housing options for older adults
- New study finds Medicare Advantage plan enrollees end up in lower quality nursing homes than people in traditional Medicare
- Coronavirus: What happened at a nursing home in Washington
- Medicare coverage of nursing home care is very limited
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