2021 - SB 1167 - Voting Restrictions on Assisted Living and Residential Facilities

SB 1167 restricts voting access to those who live in nursing facilities, assisted living centers, or residential facilities and may need assistance to cast their absentee ballot.

SB 1167 would criminalize any non-immediate family member or guardian who offers ballot assistance to those who live in nursing facilities, assisted living centers or residential facilities.

SB 1167 would allow an election clerk or their designee to provide assistance with absentee ballots to residents of facilities when a facility administrator requests such assistance. The bill would also allow for an immediate family member to provide assistance with an absentee ballot. However, SB 1167 mandates assistance from the election clerk or designee only at the request of the facility and not at the request of the individual resident who wishes to exercise their right to vote.

This creates strict and harmful barriers to voting for those in rural residential facilities, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those who live under guardianship. Further, many eligible electors do not have immediate family nearby to assist in absentee voting.