How to assist someone with voting
If you are providing care or assistance to someone, you may find yourself wondering how to help them vote. Here is a quick start guide to what you need to do to fulfill your support role. Always check with your state voting officials and materials to ensure you are in compliance with regards to what actions you can or cannot take on behalf of the person you are assisting.
Every state has different protocols and even different terminology for how they regulate the actions of a person assisting another person under the terms of arrangements like informal or formal caregiving, durable power of attorney or conservatorship.
You should review your state's laws and regulations to ensure you understand your responsibilities and how to advocate for the person you are caring for.
If you are in a situation where you are the one in need of assistance, you have rights to assistance in voting and for ensuring that service providers such as assisted living or nursing facilities fulfill their obligations to allow for you to vote without influence over your choices and that your ballot is delivered securely.
State voting regulations
To find your state’s voting laws, you can find them online by searching “<name of state> voting laws”. Look for sections about voting proxy, voting assistance or disabled voting support. You can also locate links to your state rules via these sites:
Play close attention to any identification requirements your state might have and ensure that you have the documentation in hand which may include a valid photo I.D. or a social security card.
Verifying voter registration
If you are unsure regarding their voter status, you can confirm their registration through your state government. The link below will help you confirm voting registration.
Registering to vote
If the voter needs to still register to vote, you can check with your state laws regarding how far in advance they must register in order to vote in the next election. Some states have more rigid rules than others so double-checking is always a good idea. Some states only allow registration up to 30 days before election day, others may allow same-day registration.
You can find a comprehensive list of state deadlines through the U.S. Vote Foundation website.
Cognitive Capacity
Citizens who meet all state requirements around voting are legally entitled to do in every state. However, if the person you are assisting has been been deemed some version of “mentally incompetent” by a court system, they may not be allowed to participate as a voter. If you have legal guardianship or conservatorship, this may be the case.
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law notes that “Under federal law, a person cannot be barred from voting because of “incompetence” except in very limited circumstances. As a rule, if a person is competent enough to go to the polls and vote, or to complete an absentee ballot, federal law requires that the person be allowed to vote.”
Verify with your state's voting regulations as to whether the voter is eligible.
Power of Attorney
If you are acting with Power of Attorney on someone’s behalf, you are not necessarily authorized to vote on their behalf, however, you are able to assist them with their registration and with their ballot.
Conservatorship
If you are someone’s conservator, it is possible that due to the court approval of conservatorship, the court have deemed the individual as not competent for the purposes of voting. Verify with your state's rules regarding eligibility to vote when a conservatorship is involved. You cannot fill out and return a ballot in the name of someone who is not eligible to vote.
Hospitalization
It may be possible that you are assisting someone who is hospitalized and unable to vote as they normally would. Speak to facility administrators about whether the hospital has any programs to assist. Otherwise, you will likely need to make use of a mail-in ballot or absentee/emergency absentee ballot.
Assisted living / Skilled nursing facilities
If you are making your plan to support someone in assisted living or skilled nursing, you should start by contacting facility management to determine how they handle voting facilitation.
Some places have representatives of the state government visit the facility with ballots to allow residents to vote in the same way they would if they went to a polling station. Some facilities organize shuttles to official polling locations.
To make your plan, start with finding out if any of these options are already available and plan accordingly for what level of participation you may need to perform in order to assist.
Federal law mandates that long term care facilities ensure residents have the access and support to cast their votes:
Additionally, staff at facilities are not allowed to attempt to influence a resident’s vote. If you have concerns about protecting someone’s ballot from undue influence or pressure, part of your support plan may include visiting when their ballot is available or voting accommodations have been scheduled so you can ensure everything is properly handled.
§ 483.10 Resident rights. The resident has a right to a dignified existence, self-determination, and communication with and access to persons and services inside and outside the facility. A facility must protect and promote the rights of each resident, including each of the following rights: (a) Exercise of rights. (1) The resident has the right to exercise his or her rights as a resident of the facility and as a citizen or resident of the United States. (2) The resident has the right to be free of interference, coercion, discrimination, and reprisal from the facility in exercising his or her rights.
Voting Format
Votes can be cast via in-person polling at an official polling station. Many voters are also able to securely submit their ballots via mail.
In Person
If you are assisting someone with voting at a polling station, they have a legal right for you to accompany them inside the voting booth and provide assistance with their ballot.
Depending on the state you might have to fill out a form verifying your role as an assistant and swearing that you didn’t not coerce or influence the person’s vote.
By Mail
You are able to render assistance with mail-in ballot under very similar terms. It varies state-by-state but there may be a section on the ballot where you sign as a preparer or assistant of some kind.
Voting Assistance Checklist
☑️ Verify voter registration / register to vote if needed
☑️ Verify all deadlines for voting in your state
☑️ Double check your state laws around voting assistance
☑️ Provide material for the voter to review to understand what choices are available to them through their ballot
☑️ If the voter lives in a long-term care facility, speak to the facility regarding their specific practices to facilitate voting.
☑️ Determine if early, absentee, mail-in or in-person voting is the appropriate format for the vote.
☑️ If they are voting via mail or absentee ballot, ensure that deadlines are met to procure the ballot and return it on time.
☑️ If you are taking the voter to the polling station directly and will be assisting them, ensure that you have all the documentation and ID that may be required by the state.