Reports indicate that CMS’s July 2026 memorandum is inspiring election denial groups to intimidate nursing homes and staff with unfounded accusations of fraud

Text of Letter (PDF) | Text of CMS Response (PDF)

October 29, 2026 - Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), along with 6 of their colleagues, have sent a follow-up letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz demanding that CMS rescind a July 2026 memorandum that undermines nursing home residents’ voting rights, following reports of election denial groups misusing the memo findings and harassing nursing homes. 

“We write to reiterate our request that you rescind the July 2026 memorandum and seek clarification about any connections between CMS and these election denial groups. This is a particularly urgent matter given that Election Day is only one week away,” the senators wrote. 

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) joined in signing the letter.

In July 2026, CMS issued new guidance regarding the responsibilities of nursing home staff in the voting process. Previous 2020 and 2024 CMS guidance 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. 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.” CMS’s July 2026 memo also highlighted two investigations of supposed election fraud occurring at nursing homes, even though 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.

In an August 2026 letter, the senators urged Dr. Oz to rescind the new CMS guidance, raising concerns that it would threaten nursing home residents’ constitutional right to vote. In September, Dr. Oz responded, acknowledging that “nursing homes are still expected to . . . [a]ffirm and support each resident’s right to vote” and that nursing home staff can help people vote by “[p]roviding neutral logistical assistance, such as helping a resident request a mail-in ballot, completing a ballot per the resident’s own expressed wishes, or arranging transportation to a polling location.” 

The senators criticized CMS for continuing to omit this guidance on how to help residents vote — which was included in the 2020 and 2024 versions of the memo, and which Dr. Oz’s response conceded is relevant — from the July 2026 memo, and for continuing to emphasize unfounded allegations of voter fraud in the July 2026 memo.

Now, new reports reveal that election denial groups led by the so-called Election Integrity Network (EIN) have launched campaigns targeting nursing homes that are “inspired” by CMS’s guidance. Several groups are reportedly urging followers to email and call nursing homes in their area to “question those facilities” about alleged voter fraud. These campaigns also raise questions regarding the extent to which these groups have been communicating with CMS, especially given the well-documented connections between 2020 election denial groups and the White House.  

“These attacks on nursing homes and their staff are particularly troubling at a time that nursing homes are facing a shortage of staff to meet residents’ needs,” wrote the lawmakers. “We are deeply concerned that CMS’s failure to rescind its July 2026 memorandum is enabling election denial groups to intimidate nursing home staff from assisting residents with voting and may ultimately inhibit the ability of nursing home residents to exercise their constitutional rights.”

The senators reiterated their request for CMS to rescind the July 2026 memorandum and reinstate the 2020 and 2024 nursing home voting guidance. 

The senators also requested that Administrator Oz respond to their questions regarding the connections between these nursing home intimidation campaigns and CMS’s July 2026 memorandum by November 2, 2026.

Senator Warren is a national leader on efforts to defend our democracy and the sacred right to vote:

• In September 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reintroduced the Youth Voting Rights Act of 2026, comprehensive legislation to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment and expand youth access to voting. 
• In August 2026, Senators Warren, Padilla (D-Calif.), and colleagues wrote a letter to Dr. Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), urging him to repeal guidance that would threaten nursing home residents’ right to vote. 
• In April 2026, in response to the news that the Supreme Court limited key parts of the Voting Rights Act, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released the following statement.
• In March 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate in staunch opposition to the SAVE Act, Republicans’ effort to suppress voting rights nationwide.
• In October 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reintroduced the Youth Voting Rights Act.
• In June 2022, Senators Warren, Whitehouse (R-R.I.), Hirono (D-Hawaii), Merkley (D-Ore.), Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Luján (D-N.M.) sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra urging him to expand voter registration access on HealthCare.gov.
• In May 2022, Senators Warren and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) led nine of their colleagues in introducing the Sustaining Our Democracy Act. This legislation would provide $20 billion in mandatory federal funding over the next decade to help states and local governments support election administration, including by training and recruiting nonpartisan poll workers and election officials and increasing access to voting in underserved communities.
• In January 2022, Senator Warren delivered a speech on the floor of the United States Senate calling on the Senate to end the filibuster and protect voting rights.
• In October 2021, Senator Warren joined 48 of her Democratic colleagues to introduce the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
  
  Source: Senator Elizabeth Warren