How Some Nursing Home Residents Can Get Help Voting

Published: Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - 11:27am

When it comes to voting in a pandemic, election officials are looking at different ways people can safely cast ballots. But what if someone lives in a long-term care facility and needs help voting?

Sometimes people need a little help casting their ballot. In Arizona, a person can ask a caregiver or family member. But if that’s not an option, a resident in long-term care can reach out to their county elections department and ask for a special election board team.

"And that consists of two people, of two different parties who would come out, bring them a ballot, help them fill out their ballot and then return that ballot to the election office," said Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. 

But with everything that’s going on with the pandemic, it could mean volunteers are entering facilities that have had COVID. 

Diana Solorio is with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. She says they’re already making plans for such a scenario.

"They use masks, gloves, and they have disinfecting supplies. And when they're there, the ballot is, once it's marked and taken, it’s sealed in a Ziploc bag and quarantined before the elections department opens the bag to verify the signatures and process the ballot," Solorio said. 

Solorio says that while they are still recruiting volunteers, they’ve seen a surge of people wanting to come out and help with this year’s election.