Georgia Doctors Participating In Initiative To Register Voters

Clinics and hospitals with VotER often have a kiosk or posters that help patients register to vote and request their absentee ballots

Aliya Bhatia

Updated Wednesday at 12:46 p.m.

Getting people registered to vote in Georgia is an emergency, according to some doctors.

They’re participating in a national initiative called VotER.



When patients visit the Emergency Room at local hospitals, doctors treat them and then make sure they’re registered to vote so they can weigh in on issues pertaining to healthcare.

Aliya Bhatia, the Chief Operating Officer of VotER, says all that doctors need is a Healthy Democracy Kit.

Bhatia says the movement started after a Doctor in Boston, named Alister Martin, treated a patient for hunger pain.

Bhatia said, “The kit includes a lanyard and a QR code that a physician wears around their neck that allows doctors to register them to vote or request an absentee ballot.”

Doctors hope patients will use their new voting status to weigh in on critical healthcare issues at the polls.

Correction: This report has been corrected to show that it was a doctor in Boston, not New York, who started the VotER movement. It has also been updated to show that Aliya Bhatia is the COO of the national organization.