Memorial Health Systems is making sure admitted patients at their hospitals will have the ability to vote in the upcoming elections this year. Voters who are hospitalized 14 days or less before the Illinois primary election on March 17th will be able to cast their ballots at all five Memorial Health System hospitals including Passavant Area Hospital.
A qualified voter who has been admitted to a hospital not more than 14 days before an election is entitled to receive a ballot in the hospital from a legal family member or someone who is registered to vote in the patient’s precinct, according to Illinois law. The law also applies to patients in nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.
The patient’s physician, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant must fill out a form attesting to the reason for the patient being in the hospital and unable to go to the polling place on Tuesday, March 17th. Forms are available from each hospital’s patient liaisons. A patient’s family member or a registered voter who lives in the same precinct as the patient must take the form to the appropriate county clerk’s office to be reviewed and notarized and to receive the patient’s ballot, which must be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day.