Most in facilities can’t vote absentee
Virus makes it hard for poll workers to see sites
Most Tennessee residents in nursing homes are not allowed to obtain mail-in ballots for the upcoming August primary election even though the COVID-19 pandemic has closed the facilities in 52 counties to visitors, making it impossible for poll workers to enter and oversee onsite voting.
Although a recent legal opinion expanded Tennesseans’ access to absentee ballots, state officials contend the ruling does not apply to residents in long-term care facilities.
As a result, county election commissions will need to deputize workers inside the nursing homes who will oversee voting in the centers that are
closed to visitors. Nursing homes are hot spots for the virus, accounting for more than 25% of all COVID-19 deaths in Tennessee.
In April, the Secretary of State’s office sent out an 82-page document outlining the state’s recommendations to county election officials for handling voting during the ongoing pandemic.
The document noted under current state law, Tennesseans living in nursing homes are required to vote at the facility they live in or vote in person during early voting or on Election Day.
“They are not allowed to vote absentee by mail,” the plan said.
The only exception is for residents living in a long-term care facility that is outside the county where they are registered to vote, said Julia Bruck, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s office.
“If the 60 or older voter stays in a licensed facility located in a county outside where the voter is registered to vote, the 60 or older voter may vote absentee by-mail either because of the age category, COVID-19, or as a voter outside of the county,” she said.
Residents who don’t fall into that category – those living in licensed care facilities located in the same county where they are registered to vote – must vote in person.
That’s despite a recent ruling from Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, who ordered the state to allow those seeking an absentee ballot while citing COVID-19 concerns to obtain one.
On Monday, Bruck said the court’s ruling, which is being appealed to the state Supreme Court, does not apply to long-term care facility residents.
“Chancellor Lyle’s ruling did not address voting in long-term care facilities,” she said.
Overall, the Volunteer State has seen about 238 deaths at licensed care facilities and nursing homes, according to a Tennessean review of state data.
Noting the increase in cases, Gov. Bill Lee in late April ordered all residents and workers at long-term care facilities to undergo testing. The testing took more time than the state initially expected.
According to data maintained by the state, outside visitors are not currently allowed in long-term care facilities in 52 counties. On Monday, the state reported 3,300 new cases alone, shattering single-day records set last week.
For counties that limit public access at long-term care facilities, voting will be very different than previous elections. Under the Secretary of State’s COVID-19 election plan, two staff members working in those counties’ long-term care facilities would need to be deputized to oversee in-person voting. Further, the staff members would need to be registered voters in the county where the facility is located and must have bipartisan representation.
“Let them know you can pay them,” the plan states.
The document outlines a series of actions the staff members must take, including curbside pick up of election materials such as ballots and affidavit envelopes and approaching residents one at a time.
“The bipartisan deputies will go to each individual voter together,” the plan says. “The voter will sign the application, vote the ballot and seal it in the envelope, sign the affidavit, and place the ballot in the locked ballot box.”
Once all long-term care facility residents have a chance to vote, the deputized workers will arrange to leave the materials on the curb for election officials to pick up.
“It seems like they’ve developed a workaround for something that makes no sense to begin with,” said Dr. David Dosa, an expert on nursing home infections at Brown University.
Dosa said while utilizing staff for the election process makes sense, the initial law prohibiting absentee voting in nursing homes was likely over concerns about cognitive impaired patients.
“The idea of having them actually physically do the vote is probably what this is all about,” he said, noting requiring someone to sign their name and know where to go could limit voters with memory impairment.
In the 43 counties currently allowing visitors at long-term care facilities, voting will take place as it always does — with election commissions sending poll workers to go into the buildings. Typically, facilities dedicate a private area, such as an activity room, that serves as a de facto polling place without traditional voting booths. Residents vote on paper ballots, with poll workers at the ready to offer any necessary assistance.
Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-memphis, said sending outside poll workers into facilities creates a heightened risk to the state’s most vulnerable residents.
“Because this disease is so highly contagious, I think bringing in election workers and having them set up the equipment is just an unnecessary risk,” she said.
And while she expressed confidence in the state’s plan to deputize workers to oversee voting in closed-buildings, Akbari said expanding absentee ballot access to all residents in long-term care facilities would be the easiest and safest way.
Steve Mulroy, an attorney involved in the case challenging the state’s absentee ballot system, said, “Given that those over 60 are supposed to be able to vote absentee anyway, sending election workers into COVID hot spots like nursing homes seems an unnecessary risk.”
Despite the unique nature of this year’s August primary, Michelle Morgan, the Lake County election administrator, is confident in the process outlined by the state.
“The nursing homes won’t let us in,” she said. “(But) it will be fairly easy.”
Nationwide, nursing homes have proven to be the “perfect storm” for COVID-19, said Dosa.
“It’s a highly infectious disease that predominantly affects or differentially affects older adults with comorbidities and chronic medical conditions. That basically describes nursing homes to a T,” he said.
Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.