Let’s dispel the myth that Long-Term Residents no longer have the right to vote when they enter a long-term care facility. On the contrary, older adults represent roughly 2 million people who live in long-term care facilities, and it is the responsibility of the home to ensure the residents exercise their rights and to know what is needed to ensure they can.
One of the most basic things is to remember that when an elder or a person with a disability enters a long-term care facility permanently, they will have to change their address from where they lived to where they reside now. An example would be if the elder resided in Warwick and now is a permanent resident in a Providence long term care facility. There is always an exception. If the elder chooses to continue to vote in Warwick and has the transportation to do so, that is fine. If not, in order to vote in the new location and obtain an absentee ballot a change of address would be required.
It’s important to realize a dementia diagnosis does not stop a resident from voting. Unless they have been declared incompetent by a judge, then they can vote, and there are clear-cut cases where an Elder who shows no sign of being in a diminished cognitive state has been prevented from voting. It would be very helpful to a resident if the facility or family brought in news articles on who is running for office. Having the residents watch political ads will also be beneficial.
One practice that occurs during election times is candidates requesting to speak to the residents. This is fine but be prepared to prevent the politician from bringing doughnuts or their own political pins and advertisements on voting day. We all know that these people running won’t be around after the Election. Thankfully the Federal politicians are very active all year round with visiting Seniors and going into facilities.
The closed voting ballots are administered by a bipartisan pair of volunteers from the Board of Elections, and they have the responsibility to ensure no one is influencing the residents. This includes family members for sure. If the family member refuses to leave the area where the resident is filling out their ballot, please contact the Ombudsman office, and we will assist you.
What do you do if the resident insists the family member remains? The volunteers will remain in the room to prevent any coaxing by the family member. If the resident has a disability that appears to make the struggle with the ballot, you can contact the Disability Law Association and ask for guidance. Residents have the right to be free of interference, coercion, discrimination and reprisal from the facility in exercising their rights(U.S regulation 483.10)
In closing, please contact the Ombudsman's office, Disability Law, or the RI Board of Elections if you have any concerns.
Kathleen Heren
Rhode Island State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Office of the RI State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
401-785-3340
As the Rhode Island State Long Term Care Ombudsman, Ms. Heren shares her expertise by providing a monthly guest blog to Connelly Law Offices, Ltd in the Ombudsman's Report. In these blogs, she delves into various issues and topics that she encounters in her role. The insights and opinions expressed in these blogs are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Attorney RJ Connelly III or any of the employees at Connelly Law Offices, Ltd. Please feel free to contact our office with any questions.
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