Factors Causing Low Voter Turnout Among People Experiencing Homelessness

Written by Layla Airola

People experiencing homelessness constantly face many challenges, from where they are getting their next meal, to where they are sleeping at night. One challenge that many do not realize the houseless population faces is the difficulty of voting. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, it is estimated that of the over 550,000 people experiencing homelessness in the United States, “only one-tenth of unhoused persons actually exercise the right to vote”. Compared to the 53.4% of Americans that voted in the 2018 election, voters experiencing homelessness have a statistically lower turnout in elections than voters with stable housing.

Low voter turnout among the houseless is due to several reasons. To vote, many states require documents, such as a valid ID to vote. Many people experiencing homelessness find that maintaining important papers is difficult, particularly when cities clean out camps. According to Annie Leomporra, a civil rights fellow at the National Coalition for the Homeless, “If you’re not present [during a sweep], they’ll throw away your stuff,” This includes “your birth certificate and your social security card. And it can take a year to get it back.” In California, the government is required to publicly post when they are sweeping camps, however the unhoused say that this law is commonly violated. Several lawsuits have been filed against the seizure of property and violation of the constitutional right to personal property. However, cities rarely protect camps, even though the Supreme Court decision Robert Martin et al. vs. City of Boise declared that sweeping camps was unconstitutional if there was no space at local shelters. Of the 150,000 unhoused people in California, those on the streets commonly have their belongings and important documents stolen from them. Illegal government sweeps cause those experiencing homelessness to have an even more difficult time becoming employed, applying for housing, and voting.

Transportation is also a major obstacle for voting. The polling station that a voter is assigned to is determined by where they registered. This is extremely difficult for unhoused people because they move often, sometimes forcefully so, and transportation can be expensive to travel to the correct poll. For example, voter registration drives are sometimes held in parks to encourage the unhoused to vote. If someone experiencing homelessness registers and is assigned to a poll a mile away from the park, but then moves to a shelter miles away, when the election comes along months later, transportation to that specific poll could be difficult to arrange and expensive.

Strides have been made to help the houseless vote. Locally, the Sacramento County website allows people to register to vote online, and provides help to those who do not have a home address. An address is required to vote, but it does not have to be to a residence. Voters experiencing homelessness can list a street, park, or other building, such as a church or courthouse as their address. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) also helps voter turnout by assigning registrants a voter ID if they do not have a driver’s license or Social Security Number. As Leomporra states, “People in this space are dehumanized on a daily basis. One way to bring them back to human status is engaging them in voting.”