Warren, Padilla, Senators Press Dr. Oz on CMS Guidance that Threatens Nursing Home Residents’ Right to Vote

Trump administration threatens nursing home staff, removes vote-by-mail guidance Lawmakers warn that “nursing home residents…must not be denied their rights because they are disabled, elderly, lack transit, or face difficulties in obtaining a ballot or voting in person.” Text of Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), along with 11 of their colleagues, wrote to Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), urging him to repeal new guidance that threatens nursing home residents’ right to vote. “We write with concern that the recent guidance issued to nursing homes by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may intimidate nursing home staff from helping residents exercise their constitutional right to vote and ultimately prevent nursing home residents from voting,” wrote the senators . Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) joined in signing the letter. Last month, CMS issued new guidance regarding the responsibilities of nursing home staff in the voting process. Previous CMS guidance, including under the first Trump administration, provided nursing home staff with a list of specific ways nursing homes can make it easier for residents to vote, like assisting with absentee and mail-in voting or transporting residents to polling locations and ballot drop-off boxes. But the new guidance eliminated these recommendations, replacing them with language warning nursing home staff not to “violate federal or state voting laws” and telling staff that “they cannot engage in inappropriate coercion or other violations of residents’ rights.” “[This memo] appears to be an attempt to intimidate nursing home staff from assisting residents in the voting process,” said the senators . To reiterate this threat of investigation or prosecution, CMS’s July 2026 memo mentions two investigations of supposed election fraud occurring at nursing homes. However, no fraudulent votes were cast in either of these cases, and there is no evidence of any systemic or significant voter fraud or coercion in nursing homes. The lawmakers also raised concerns that the Trump administration’s decision to highlight examples of prior voter fraud investigations and threaten criminal penalties may be an attempt to intimidate legal immigrants who work in nursing homes, who have already been targeted by the administration’s policies. “Ultimately, we are concerned that the changes to CMS’s guidance will result in the disenfranchisement of nursing home residents,” wrote the senators . “The right to vote is guaranteed by the Constitution to all adult Americans, including nursing home residents…In order to protect nursing home residents’ voting rights, we request that you immediately rescind the July 2026 memo and reinstate the 2020 and 2024 guidance,” the lawmakers concluded . ###