The Supreme Court gave local governments the power to criminalize homelessness. Now, nonprofit organizations are helping people with lived experience of homelessness vote on the officials who hold this power.
Following the Supreme Court’s June 28 ruling in Johnson v. Grants Pass, which allows cities to punish people for sleeping outside, advocacy groups, organizations, and individuals across the country are ramping up resources to ensure people experiencing homelessness have the opportunity to elect their local government officials and vote for representatives who reflect their beliefs on criminalization.
Oftentimes people experiencing homelessness, like many U.S. citizens, “don’t grasp” the impact their individual vote could have on the outcome of an election, said Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. But when marginalized people register to participate in the process, it reminds candidates they are a key demographic.
“Those decisions are made at the local level,” Whitehead said about the criminalization of homelessness. “It’s the local council, it’s the mayor, the governor, the county council, and people with lived experience have a real opportunity to impact who is making those decisions.”
While you don’t need a permanent address to register to vote in D.C., a number of barriers can prevent people experiencing homelessness from participating in the process. Registering to vote with proper documentation, accessing information on candidates and policy issues, and arranging transportation to polling sites on Election Day are steps that require time and resources not everyone has.
Daniel Kingery sits at the corner of Vermont Avenue and I Street in Northwest D.C. with a sign promoting his website, CleanHonestGovernment.com. One of the site’s main goals is to highlight the influence registered voters from all socioeconomic backgrounds can have on national politics, but Kingery said several barriers prevent people from executing this right. He said with persistent encampment clearings across the country, many people experiencing homelessness, including himself, move around and may end up in a state they aren’t registered to vote in.
“In D.C. alone there’s supposed to be close to 5,000 homeless people, so that is an excellent place to start with protecting our voting rights” Kingery said.
Kingery said many people don’t realize registered voters influence the political process regardless of whether they end up casting a ballot, because candidates are “at-will employees” who should still seek their support. His site also discusses the need for citizens to understand the Constitution and Declaration of Independence so they can protect their rights and stand up to officials who violate them.
“For example, camping is protected by amendment nine because we’ve been camping in federal public lands and parks ever since we’ve had federal public lands and parks,” Kingery said, referencing an argument he made when he faced arrest for sleeping with a blanket in McPherson Square at 2:30 a.m. on May 22.
Whitehead said the National Coalition works every election season to increase the number of registered voters with lived experience of homelessness by developing a comprehensive manual to help individuals and nonprofit organizations conduct outreach in their communities. He hopes the 2024 Voting Rights Manual, which the National Coalition developed as part of its “You Don’t Need a Home to Vote” campaign, will mobilize people to vote during a time when local government officials are making decisions about criminalizing homelessness. The National Coalition’s goal is to put voting resources “at the fingertips” of people experiencing homelessness so they feel empowered to participate.
“Especially with the emergence of the criminalization practices, we think it’s vitally important that elected officials see people experiencing homelessness as a voting block that has potential to impact local elections,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead said right now there is a “determined effort” around voter suppression at both the local and national level as politicians seek to implement polarizing policies, and diverse voter turnout is an effective way to combat these efforts.
“The number of people experiencing homelessness could drastically change our electoral process and the elected officials in communities,” he said.
Voter drives and outreach for nonprofit organizations
The National Coalition’s 2024 handbook outlines the role nonprofit organizations can play in helping register their clients, and how they can encourage voting without violating National Voter Registration Act policies. For example, nonprofit organizations cannot promote a particular party or candidate, send photocopies of voter registration forms to the elections office, or attach any additional information or forms to voter registration forms.
The handbook provides columns of “you can say” and “you can’t say” phrases to help volunteers navigate voter registration drives and ensure they are presenting the information in a nonpartisan way. It also offers a four step process for running an effective drive, including details on developing a plan for the event, preparing and publicizing the drive, filling out forms correctly, and encouraging people to vote after they’re registered.
The handbook also includes a series of questions people experiencing homelessness frequently ask, with answers below. Questions include whether they’re eligible to vote, if it’s free to register, if they need to re-register to vote, whether they need to speak English, and if they can register another person. Other logistical questions include how and when to access polling sites, how to vote by mail, and how to join a political party.
The handbook encourages nonprofit organizations to contact their city or county elections office to see if their agency is eligible to become a polling site on Election Day, as this would help clients vote without navigating transportation.
On Election Day, the handbook suggests volunteers help walk and drive people to polling locations, hold a rally that then marches to a polling site, and encourage local public transportation to offer free rides.
Resources for people experiencing homelessness who are looking to vote
On the National Coalition’s website, people can fill out personal information to check their registration status, register to vote online, request an absentee ballot, find nearby polling places, and browse information on local and national candidates.
Voters can also browse frequently asked questions to learn more about what is expected of them at the polling site and what to do if they make a mistake on the ballot, are unsure of how to answer something, or need more time in the booth.
Persistent obstacles to voting while experiencing homelessness
Even with nonprofit organizations and individuals setting up voting drives, many people experiencing homelessness struggle to obtain the proof of residence necessary to register, Whitehead said. He said personal forms of identification are often stolen, lost, or thrown away by officials during encampment clearings, and the process for obtaining new forms is a “big barrier” for people because it takes time and money. Encampment clearings often force people to change their address at a “critical time” for voter registration, Whitehead added.
“If people are constantly being moved around, the importance of education around how to get a ballot and vote is more crucial than it’s ever been,” Whitehead said.
It can also be difficult to motivate people to show up at the polls on Election Day, find correct polling sites, and ensure they know enough about the candidates to vote. The National Coalition’s handbook recommends nonprofit organizations hang signs in shelters with information on nearby polling sites, hold a candidate forum to educate people on their options, and provide information on absentee ballots.
Early and consistent outreach is the best way to mitigate the effects of voter suppression, Whitehead said. He said effective outreach involves explaining to people the impact their vote could have on policy issues they care about, and how they can overcome barriers that may have prevented them from voting in the past.
“Even if you don’t have economic means in this country or the power of the pocketbook, you have the power of the vote and that’s one of the most important powers we have,” Whitehead said
