Medical community Voting plays role in boosting health care access / Public News Service

Voting is not only good for democracy, it's good for your health, according to one of the country's largest physician associations.

The American College of Physicians has released a new policy outline.The authors said they would vote empower people How well our health care system performs depends on voting initiatives and elected officials.

Dr. Omar Atiq, president of the American Medical Association, said voters will ultimately decide people's access to health care and doctors' ability to treat them.

“Increased voter participation will lead to better health care policies and, in turn, better health care,” Atiku argued.

Atiq noted that research shows the number of infections in the state is decreasing. Barriers to voting It has better health outcomes than states with restrictive voting laws and gerrymandered maps. According to the Cost of Voting Index, Minnesota is narrowly in the top half of states for ease of access to the ballot box.

The American College of Physicians encourages all health care professionals and medical students to engage patients in bipartisan health care conversations about voting as a way to increase equity in health care. Atiq suggested a good place to start is by posting voter registration information in patient waiting rooms.

“We are looking at conversations with patients about the importance of patient voice to ensure that national resources are allocated where optimal health is achieved for all,” Atiku explained.

Atiq pointed out that the United States ranks last in the world despite being one of the richest and most technologically advanced countries in the world. Average life Among comparable countries, for both men and women. He added that doctors have a responsibility to help patients in their time of need, and part of that includes talking about voting on issues to improve health care.

Support for this report was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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Voting is not only good for democracy, it's good for your health, according to one of the country's largest physician associations.

The American College of Physicians states: Voting allows people to engage with their communities, but voting efforts and elected officials determine how well our health care system functions..

Therefore, ACP Chairman Dr. Omar Atiku said it is the voters who ultimately decide the people's access to health services and the ability of doctors to treat them.

“Increased voter participation will lead to better health care policies and, in turn, better health care,” Atiku said.

Mr. Atiku said that research shows that the state Fewer barriers to voting result in better health outcomes than states with restrictive voting laws and gerrymandered maps.

Massachusetts ranks 12th in the nation for ease of access to the ballot..

ACP encourages all health care professionals and medical students to engage patients in bipartisan health care conversations about voting as a way to advance health equity.

Atiku said a good place to start is by posting voter registration information in patient waiting rooms.

“We're looking at talking to patients and the importance of their voices to ensure that the nation's resources are directed to where optimal health is achieved for all,” Atiku said. “There is,” he said.

Atiku said that despite being one of the richest and most technologically advanced countries in the world: The United States ranks last among comparable countries in life expectancy for both men and women..

He said doctors have a responsibility to help patients in their time of need, and part of that includes speaking out about voting on issues that improve health care.

Support for this report was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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Voting rights organizers said people across the South are facing a new wave of voter suppression tactics.

Alabama Values, SOLVE, and the Groundwork Project recently brought together groups to cover these obstacles and how to stay informed. In the webinar titled “The South has something to say”, organizers from five states discussed the ongoing fight for fair maps and fair representation in the wake of the incident. alabama vs milligan.

Now that the state has secured new maps, it's important for voters to stay informed, especially ahead of the 2nd District primary, said Zephyr Scalzetti, senior digital organizer for the group Alabama Values. He said that.

“This is a new seat,” Scalzetti emphasized. “There is no incumbent and your vote really matters in elections like this, especially in primaries, because we tend to focus on November as Election Day in Alabama and across the country. The dates of the primaries are sometimes even more important.”

Scalzetti also noted that voter registration data may not yet match the correct congressional districts because the state is in the process of manually reassigning voters. But efforts are underway to address this issue, as Secretary of State West Allen secured funding to expand geographic information system services to every county in Alabama.

Mr. Scalzetti acknowledged that there continue to be challenges in achieving fair voting rights.He is concerned about the recent 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, individuals and entities that previously filed lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act no longer have the right to do so. The ruling applies only to seven states, but it could weaken Title II protections, it said.

“My concern is not only that this tactic is happening in other circuits, but that there is now a fundamental disagreement between the two circuits,” Scalzetti said. pointed out. “This is a major basis for the Supreme Court to step in and say, 'As the highest law in the land, we need to discuss which circuit court decision is correct.'” And that's worrying. ”

In addition to Alabama, organizers in Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and other states are also weighing in on the voting rights of people who have served time in prison and whose native language is not English, as well as the potential impact of artificial intelligence. Expressing concern about misinformation. And they emphasized the importance of continuing the momentum of voter education, advocacy, and community building in 2024.

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Research shows staffing in Oregon's election offices is an issue in the midst of a major election year.

Staff-to-voter ratios vary widely from county to county depending on county size, but statewide they average about 1 staff member per 27,000 voters.

Paul Munson – Research Assistant Professor Portland State University Public Service Center – helped the action Study says warning signs are flashing as this year's election gets into full swing.

He said finding workers in this politically charged environment is a challenge for election offices.

“It came up in our interviews and one in five clerks actually had to stop their interviews because they were hearing from the public,” Manson said. “This is because it has become very difficult to talk about it.” There's a sense of some sort of attack or threat to the office, to the point where some people resist even sharing what they do for a living outside of work. ”

Munson said low wages also make it difficult to recruit and retain people to work in election offices. He said there are also challenges with county-level funding models tied to the real estate market.

Manson said these pressures are leading to election officials leaving the profession.

“Obviously there will be institutional knowledge coming out,” Manson said, adding, “It could be another contentious election cycle, and we need to be very sharp about this effort to maintain public trust.” We need to be transparent.” ”

Munson said another pressure on workers is the growing list of public records requests that government agencies have deadlines to respond to. He said there are several ways states can assist election workers.

“We could create a state public records request information center or create training positions to help these counties do the training,” Manson said. “This is a very quick and immediate initiative that I think will take some of the weight off the shoulders of clerks.In the longer term, we will re-evaluate how funding for these offices is done. It is also important to do so.”

Support for this report was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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