Election day in the hospital

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

What happens when a patient is hospitalized on election day? How do they exercise their right to vote?

Do they bring the voting booths to the hospital?

Can you give any assistance to the patients with voting?

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

If it is an admission the pt could forsee, then the pt could vote by mail in ballot. However, it would be impossible to bring in booths and allow pts to vote. At my hospital we get pts from so many different voting districts from a 3-4 state radius, so it would be impossible to have each pts specific ballot

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Specializes in Emergency.

Where I am (Canada) the electoral officer comes in and patients vote.

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

I remember being in a LTC on election day and booths being set up in the dining room, but that makes sense as it's the patient's primary residence. I guess when your catchment area is large it's not feasible to set up voting when the patients are from many different districts.

I'm thinking about this today because my 92-yo FIL is hospitalized and it's primary day. He's always had a keen interest in politics and I guess he won't be able to vote. :(

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Specializes in PICU.

Where I work, the social worker had like emergency ballots or something. Contact them.

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At my facility (large university medical center), the volunteer service assists registered voters to cast absentee ballots on election days.

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