In 2012, only 56 percent of eligible voters made it to the polls. Illness and disability kept nearly 40 percent of non-voters making under $50,000 a year from casting a ballot.

Make sure that doesn’t happen to your patients today.

Admitted patients who are registered to vote can fill out an official absentee ballot application if they indicate that they have been hospitalized within five days of the election. This form allows patients to request that an absentee ballot be hand-delivered by an election official or designated proxy—such as a family member or friend.

Many states have last-minute absentee ballot provisions for medical emergencies. In Virginia, for example, if an eligible voter becomes ill or hospitalized before an election, he or she can vote via emergency absentee ballot. In California, the laws are similar to ours in Massachusetts—proxies, including hospital volunteers, can pick up ballots at election offices on Election Day.

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