Sisters Rhonda and Mary hit the jackpot. They were blessed with an incredible mother who nurtured, loved, and protected them. So, when their mom fell victim to the cruel and unforgiving disease of dementia, they vowed that they would repay her with the same love and protection. As the disease progressed and their mom lost her ability to communicate and handle basic care, they reluctantly moved her into the memory care unit of a reputable residential care facility in Lubbock, Texas. Mary, the legal guardian, was sure that Mom was safe. When COVID hit, and they were unable to visit her, they still checked on her regularly with facility staff. However, as time went on and the nursing home became less responsive, they started to worry. How would they know if someone was mistreating or neglecting her? What tools did they have to monitor the facility? Her care was expensive, but where was the accountability?
In the fall of 2020, they looked for any way possible to keep an eye on the facility. After the November election, Mary used the Texas government website that allows voters to check their voting records. As guardian, she also checked her mom’s voting record, which tells if someone voted but not how they voted.
“I felt like I had been punched in the gut!” Mary was shocked to see that her mom had “voted” in the November 2020 election. As her guardian, Mary had not changed her mom’s voter registration when she moved her to a new county because, of course, nonverbal dementia patients are unable to vote. She also knew that her mom was unable to fill out a request for a mail-in ballot and had no idea of the name of the current president.
She immediately called her sister and said, “Someone stole Mom’s vote!”
Rhonda had heard about the work of the American Constitutional Rights Union (ACRU) and the Center for Vulnerable Voters Project. ACRU educates the public about the risks to vulnerable voters and takes on residential facilities that fail to protect their votes. ACRU also educates state officials and legislators about this abuse of vulnerable voters and encourages them to prioritize investigation and prosecution and change legislation where necessary.
Rhonda shared information about ACRU with Mary, indicating that their family was not alone. This problem is widespread across America. Cognitively impaired facility residents have their ballot choices sometimes made by staff, sometimes made under coercion, and often made without their knowledge. Other complaints indicate that activist groups across the country collect ballots from residential facilities with the promise that the ballots will be delivered to election officials, but with no way to assure that they arrive without tampering…or arrive at all.
Rhonda called ACRU, and within a matter of days, ACRU’s attorneys took sworn affidavits from the sisters and assisted them with filing a formal complaint with the Texas attorney general’s office. The AG’s office put the nursing home under investigation, but difficulties remained because of COVID rules.
Rhonda and Mary are just two of thousands of family members who are dealing with this most despicable form of voter fraud. The evidence of real and tangible voter fraud against vulnerable senior voters is growing. ACRU board members former Attorney General Edwin Meese III and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell wrote an article addressing the nationwide problem. They point out Wisconsin, where the state assembly appointed a special counsel to investigate voter fraud in nursing homes after a county sheriff uncovered evidence of multiple voter fraud occurrences in a single nursing home.
Later, Special Counsel Michael Gableman, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, released a report indicating “rampant fraud and abuse occurred statewide” throughout Wisconsin’s nursing homes and residential care facilities. In 2020, a Texas social worker was indicted on 134 felony counts of voter fraud for registering mentally incapacitated citizens to vote without their consent. Then, in 2022, an employee at the Father Murray Nursing Center in Macomb County, Michigan, was sentenced to jail for forging signatures on absentee ballot applications.
Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., participated in ACRU’s media campaign to warn seniors about voter fraud, particularly in nursing homes and other senior citizen facilities. According to Dr. King, “[My uncle] fought to ensure that every single American had the right to vote freely [but] many of those voters are nursing home residents who are often targeted by those who would steal or suppress their votes.”
The ACRU’s Center for Vulnerable Voters provides a Senior Citizen Voter Bill of Rights that has been used by many facilities across the country, and they provide a guide for all citizens who wish to protect the rights of vulnerable voters—a great resource you can view here.
ACRU encourages family members to take initiative like Rhonda and Mary. Guardians and seniors can utilize state websites (in some states) and the website of the Voter Reference Foundation to check voting records to detect fraud. If there is evidence of potential fraud, it can be reported via the Center for Vulnerable Voters website or by calling 888-820-VOTE.
Lori Roman
Chairman and CEO
American Constitutional Rights Union
Someone Stole Mom’s Vote
Sisters Rhonda and Mary hit the jackpot. They were blessed with an incredible mother who nurtured, loved, and protected them. So, when their mom fell victim to the cruel and unforgiving disease of dementia, they vowed that they would repay her with the same love and protection. As the disease progressed and their mom lost her ability to communicate and handle basic care, they reluctantly moved her into the memory care unit of a reputable residential care facility in Lubbock, Texas. Mary, the legal guardian, was sure that Mom was safe. When COVID hit, and they were unable to visit her, they still checked on her regularly with facility staff. However, as time went on and the nursing home became less responsive, they started to worry. How would they know if someone was mistreating or neglecting her? What tools did they have to monitor the facility? Her care was expensive, but where was the accountability?
In the fall of 2020, they looked for any way possible to keep an eye on the facility. After the November election, Mary used the Texas government website that allows voters to check their voting records. As guardian, she also checked her mom’s voting record, which tells if someone voted but not how they voted.
“I felt like I had been punched in the gut!” Mary was shocked to see that her mom had “voted” in the November 2020 election. As her guardian, Mary had not changed her mom’s voter registration when she moved her to a new county because, of course, nonverbal dementia patients are unable to vote. She also knew that her mom was unable to fill out a request for a mail-in ballot and had no idea of the name of the current president.
She immediately called her sister and said, “Someone stole Mom’s vote!”
Rhonda had heard about the work of the American Constitutional Rights Union (ACRU) and the Center for Vulnerable Voters Project. ACRU educates the public about the risks to vulnerable voters and takes on residential facilities that fail to protect their votes. ACRU also educates state officials and legislators about this abuse of vulnerable voters and encourages them to prioritize investigation and prosecution and change legislation where necessary.
Rhonda shared information about ACRU with Mary, indicating that their family was not alone. This problem is widespread across America. Cognitively impaired facility residents have their ballot choices sometimes made by staff, sometimes made under coercion, and often made without their knowledge. Other complaints indicate that activist groups across the country collect ballots from residential facilities with the promise that the ballots will be delivered to election officials, but with no way to assure that they arrive without tampering…or arrive at all.
Rhonda called ACRU, and within a matter of days, ACRU’s attorneys took sworn affidavits from the sisters and assisted them with filing a formal complaint with the Texas attorney general’s office. The AG’s office put the nursing home under investigation, but difficulties remained because of COVID rules.
Rhonda and Mary are just two of thousands of family members who are dealing with this most despicable form of voter fraud. The evidence of real and tangible voter fraud against vulnerable senior voters is growing. ACRU board members former Attorney General Edwin Meese III and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell wrote an article addressing the nationwide problem. They point out Wisconsin, where the state assembly appointed a special counsel to investigate voter fraud in nursing homes after a county sheriff uncovered evidence of multiple voter fraud occurrences in a single nursing home.
Later, Special Counsel Michael Gableman, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, released a report indicating “rampant fraud and abuse occurred statewide” throughout Wisconsin’s nursing homes and residential care facilities. In 2020, a Texas social worker was indicted on 134 felony counts of voter fraud for registering mentally incapacitated citizens to vote without their consent. Then, in 2022, an employee at the Father Murray Nursing Center in Macomb County, Michigan, was sentenced to jail for forging signatures on absentee ballot applications.
Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., participated in ACRU’s media campaign to warn seniors about voter fraud, particularly in nursing homes and other senior citizen facilities. According to Dr. King, “[My uncle] fought to ensure that every single American had the right to vote freely [but] many of those voters are nursing home residents who are often targeted by those who would steal or suppress their votes.”
The ACRU’s Center for Vulnerable Voters provides a Senior Citizen Voter Bill of Rights that has been used by many facilities across the country, and they provide a guide for all citizens who wish to protect the rights of vulnerable voters—a great resource you can view here.
ACRU encourages family members to take initiative like Rhonda and Mary. Guardians and seniors can utilize state websites (in some states) and the website of the Voter Reference Foundation to check voting records to detect fraud. If there is evidence of potential fraud, it can be reported via the Center for Vulnerable Voters website or by calling 888-820-VOTE.
Lori Roman
Chairman and CEO
American Constitutional Rights Union
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