Senators accuse CMS rule change of suppressing votes of nursing-home residents
A group of senators headed by Elizabeth Warren and Alex Padilla says a July CMS memo threatens nursing-home staff and could bar two million residents from voting.
On July 20, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a memorandum that swaps prior 2020 and 2024 guidance with wording that could penalize nursing-home employees for aiding residents in the voting process. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Alex Padilla led a letter asserting the move is intended to intimidate staff and disenfranchise roughly two million nursing-home voters. The new directive eliminates suggestions for assistance, such as providing transport to polling places, and instead warns of fraud investigations for “inappropriate coercion” or rights violations.
CMS officials pointed to alleged fraud cases in Texas and Wisconsin, but neither episode produced illegal votes. Critics note that many nursing-home workers are immigrants who have already faced policy rollbacks, and the threat of prosecution may discourage them from helping residents vote, especially given the unique barriers these seniors encounter. CMS declined to comment when approached for a response.
Why it matters
The rule could limit voting access for millions of seniors, raising concerns about election fairness and civil rights.
In this story
