Hundreds of seniors sign up for vote at Hebrew Home

It is an off-year for elections for most offices, but one local retirement home is working to register its roughly 900 residents and 1,000 staff members to participate in ballots.

Voting is no small feat for people living in places like the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, where the drive is underway. CEO Daniel Reingold found only 100 residents made the trek to vote in key state elections last year.

Residents like Adele Harris were glad to participate in the registration drive on Oct. 16.

“You have to have some basis for complaining,” she remarked.

She and a group of other residents were registered to vote in Florida, so they had to request absentee ballots.

“It’s your right and your duty,” Frances Futterman said of the process.

Until recently, the main line on this year’s Bronx ballot was part of a pro-forma process — longtime District Attorney Robert Johnson’s unchallenged re-election bid. Since he announced his intention to step down last month, a contest between Democrat Darcel Clark and Republican Robert Siano has emerged. Next year, Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein is up for re-election. A recent brochure from his office boasted that the Hebrew Home was among 12 organizations in his district to receive a total of $10 million in discretionary funding thanks to him.

Mr. Reingold said the Hebrew Home would welcome candidates to visit and discuss issues with residents, but the organization has no plans to get involved with campaigning or lobbying. He added that election day will be an all-hands-on-deck operation in order to transport residents and staff to the polls. 

“As far as I’m concerned, this is a permanent part of living at the Hebrew Home, encouraging and assisting with the right to vote,” he said. “My hope is that the initiative that we use will become a model for all nursing homes around the country to make sure people are registered and voting.”

Voting a challenge

Muriel Palley, co-chair of the home’s resident council, said last week that most of residents expressed interest and registered.