Doctors, hospitals launch voter registration efforts

9/8/2020 13:32

        An emergency room doctor in Boston is assembling thousands of voter registration kits for distribution at hospitals and doctor's offices.
        
        Later this month, students at Harvard and Yale’s medical schools are planning a contest to see which of the Ivy League rivals can register the most voters.
        
        And a Rhode Island physician has launched an effort to get emergency ballots into the hands of patients who find themselves unexpectedly in the hospital around Election Day.
        
        Amid the dual public health crises of COVID-19 and racism, some in the medical community are prescribing a somewhat nontraditional remedy: voting.
        
        Hospitals, doctors and healthcare institutions across the U.S. this month are committing to efforts to engage Americans in the election process as part of Civic Health Month, a nationwide campaign that kicked off Aug. 1.