Vermont Nursing Homes Issue Voter Assistance Guidance After CMS Memo
Vermont officials and advocates are addressing voting accessibility gaps ahead of the November election, including for nursing home residents, people with disabilities, and other underserved groups. The Vermont Health Care Association issued guidance in September clarifying residents' voting rights and the assistance process, following a July CMS memo reminding nursing facilities to avoid coercing or influencing residents while preserving their right to vote. The CMS memo followed election fraud allegations in Texas and Wisconsin involving residents with diminished cognitive capacity. Advocates, including the state long-term care ombudsman, worry the memo could create a "chilling effect" where facilities wrongly withhold voting assistance from residents with cognitive impairment, even though Vermont law only bars voting for those judged incompetent by a court.