The 2020 U.S. presidential election is fast approaching, but many long-term care residents, cut off from the outside world, may not get a vote. Professor Nina Kohn joins the show to discuss voting barriers in long-term care settings and explain why it’s imperative that residents’ voting rights are protected in this election. Kohn — a David M. Levy Professor of Law at Syracuse University and Solomon Center Distinguished Elder Law Scholar at Yale University — also offers a few tips for families, ombudsmen, and advocates to help residents vote.
Interview recorded August 27, 2020.
Note: LTCCC is hosting a webinar on residents’ voting rights on September 15th at 1pm Eastern. Register here: https://nursinghome411.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AhObIpgDQkKLYqTwsZjShg.
Background reading and references:
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- Follow Professor Kohn on Twitter @NinaKohn
- Kohn’s professor bios for Syracuse and Yale
- Visit Vote.org for information about voting
- Kohn’s 2007 article on preserving voting rights in LTC institutions
- ProPublica: Hundreds of Thousands of Nursing Home Residents May Not Be Able to Vote in November Because of the Pandemic
- MarketWatch: Millions of COVID-hit nursing home residents risk losing their vote
- Read Kohn’s testimony on the NY Senate and Assembly public hearing on residential care facilities and COVID-19
- New York Times article on mail voting deadlines
- Kohn’s recommendations:
- The Farewell (starring Awkwafina)
- “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” by Roz Chast
- Swimming in the Finger Lakes
Host: Eric Goldwein
Music: Liturgy of the Street by Shane Ivers – https://www.silvermansound.com
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