Older Voters Dissatisfied With President Trump

According to a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden is leading President Trump with older voters by a whopping 27 points. Trump’s loss of support among seniors is a major reason that he is trailing former Vice President Biden overall by a substantial and growing margin.

It’s been two decades since the Democratic presidential nominee, Al Gore, won the majority of older voters. The most common reason explaining the chasm this year is the administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit seniors harder than any other group.

“It shouldn’t be shocking that Trump is losing with seniors, given his failure to acknowledge the seriousness of the Covid-19 health crisis and encourage policies advised by leading scientists, such as wearing a mask,” said Executive Director Richard Fiesta. “He has also vowed to defund Social Security by repealing the payroll tax permanently and is attempting to raid the Medicare Trust Fund.”

“Election Day is still three weeks away. Retirees who support Joe Biden can’t be complacent and need to do whatever it takes to cast their ballots.  We also need to pay attention to races up and down the ballot. From the U.S. Senate to state legislatures, our health retirement security is at stake.’

Trump’s Transparent Election-year Bribe to Seniors Will Cause Permanent Damage to Medicare

The Alliance released a statement Thursday following news that President Trump is demanding that Medicare officials raid the Trust Fund to send one-time payments of $200 and a letter signed by him to every beneficiary.

“The details of President Trump’s attempt to bribe seniors, revealed by Politico, are shocking,” said Executive Director Fiesta. “Americans will still pay the highest prescription drug costs in the world. The President is gutting Medicare - to the tune of $7.9 billion - in a desperate attempt to try and buy seniors’ votes.”

“I just wonder how Postmaster Louis DeJoy can deliver 39 million of these letters before November 3 when he told the country he can’t guarantee delivery of ballots in time to be counted,” he added.

Fiesta noted that older Americans have paid into Medicare for decades and would not choose to jeopardize their guaranteed health benefits just for a one-time debit card. The Trump scheme, however, gives them no choice, and all Americans will pay the price for years to come.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average senior spends more than $5,000 out of pocket each year -- meaning that a paltry payment of $200 won’t even make a dent in the amount seniors spend on their health care.

“President Trump has had nearly four years to lower drug prices, and he has failed. Seniors are smart enough to know what this Administration has done to them and will remember that when they vote,” Fiesta concluded.

Sen. Harris and VP Pence Debate Focuses on the Affordable Care Act

Health Care and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were major topics in the vice presidential debate Wednesday night between Sen. Kamala Harris (CA), the Democratic nominee for Vice President, and incumbent Mike Pence. Sen. Harris stressed that the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of the ACA in November in a suit being pushed by the Trump Administration originally brought by Republican attorneys general in 2018. She noted that if the court strikes down the ACA, people with pre-existing health conditions will lose their right to affordable health coverage.

She then turned to the camera and accused President Trump of trying to gut the ACA “literally in the midst of a public health pandemic.”

Those provisions are especially significant for older Americans, since among those 55 to 64, 84 percent have at least one pre-existing condition.

Pence claimed that he and President Trump have a plan to improve health care and protect those with pre-existing conditions, something they have promised since January 2017. He was unable to provide any specifics on this supposed plan that has been promised for years.

“Pence’s inability to share any details about their health care plan is evidence that the Republican ticket doesn’t have one,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “The Supreme Court is set to hear the ACA case next month, and if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg, then it really could be overturned.”

Early Voting Numbers are Breaking Records

Election season is underway in several states, with more than 5.6 million people across the country having already cast their ballots. At this point in 2016, only 75,000 people had voted across significantly fewer states.

Voters in the battleground state of Arizona began sending ballots to voters who requested a mail-in ballot on Wednesday. Voters in Arizona may opt to send their ballots back through the mail, or they may take advantage of the early voting centers and drop boxes the state has made available.

Several states have changed voting laws amid the pandemic to expand early voting periods. Consequently, more and more people are taking advantage of the opportunity, including in Ohio where hundreds of people lined up outside polling places this week to vote early.

“We encourage all of our members to take advantage of their state’s early voting systems to avoid long lines and crowds,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “If you are not one of the millions of people who have already voted, please go to www.vote.org, see what the rules are for voting in your state and make a plan to vote as soon as possible.”

States kicking off their early in-person voting since last Friday were:

• Oct. 5 - California, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nebraska and South Carolina
• Oct. 6 - Indiana and Ohio
• Oct. 7 - Arizona
• Oct. 10 - New Hampshire
• Oct. 12 - Georgia

No Excuses: 102-year-old Alliance Member Bea Lumpkin Casts Her Vote

“If I could come out at the age of 102 and face a pandemic [to vote], nobody should have an excuse," said the retired Chicago teacher.

Ms. Lumpkin told GMA that it is especially important in this election for people to be active and to come out and cast their ballot. Since becoming eligible to vote, she has yet to miss an election, and she was not about to break her streak this year.

“Everyone should take a page from Bea’s book,” said President Roach. “The message she is sending to us all is so important -- if she can vote, then so can you. We must not let the pandemic get in the way of our vote. Wear a mask and vote as early as you can, or send in your mail-in ballot right away.” 

“The Alliance is working to make it safe for seniors to vote, and we encourage you, just like Bea, to vote early,” President Roach added.

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