On Homeless Voting Rights

Over the course of this past week, I have spoken with Rachel a few more times about what life is like as a homeless student. Rachel, who describes herself as “momentarily homeless” is a college student who I was recently introduced to. She plans to move in with her parents in a few weeks when the semester is over, but has decided to “rough it” until then. This will give her the summer to find a new apartment before classes resume in the fall. Roughing it, as she described it, consists of sleeping in her car and showering at the campus gym. She has explained that this situation is constantly on her mind, sometimes affecting her concentration in class. During the course of one of our conversations, Rachel and I started talking about homelessness in general. She was interested in hearing what kinds of things I have addressed on my blog. As I started to explain a few of the entries to her, the subject of democratic rights was brought up. This discussion intrigued me and I decided to research it.

I came across some literature discussing voting rights for homeless people. The history and evolution of this “right” is interesting. In my belief, voting is core tenet of democracy and is thus a right every citizen under such a system should enjoy. I would think homeless people, who are in dire need of representation, would be allowed to vote. And while things are certainly better for this group, such wasn’t always the case. I also think that by addressing this one issue, a broader picture of how homeless people have been regarded by the greater population emerges.

In Pitts v. Black (1984), a New York law forbidding a homeless person’s right to vote was challenged. A district court ultimately determined that this whole group was “disenfranchised… which is forbidden by the Equal Protection Clause.” In countless other cases (Collier v. Menzel (1985), Bd. Of Election Comm’rs v. Chicago/Gray Area Union of the Homeless (1986), Coalition for the Homeless v. Jensen (1992), for example), the courts have consistently found that homeless people have a right to vote. As you can see, in regards to voting, this evolution of homeless rights has taken hold only since the 1980s. The central legal issue in these cases has been residency; however, the real issue was the perception that these people were not citizens. More often than not, since the 1980s, the courts have found that homeless people can satisfy the residency requirement by simply writing down an area they frequent (such as a park or street) or supply the name of a shelter they are staying at. Some courts have required a mailing address, but almost all would seem to agree that these men and women are entitled to a vote, and rightly so. You can view this information, which was retrieved from theNational Coalition for the Homeless website, by clicking here.

To say that homeless people are being treated like second class citizens would be wrong. They are not being treated like citizens at all; and to think that this culture of exclusion stops with voting would be incorrect. I would argue that one doesn’t have to look very far to see how this demographic is truly being portrayed and then treated. Look at entertainment for starters, or think about how the plight of this group is rarely brought up in the media or during political debates.

I think it is important to stay informed on a wide variety of subjects concerning a wide variety of groups of people. Rachel was very interested to hear about the voting rights of homeless. Other students, should they confide in me in the future, will likely appreciate the knowledge I have already accumulated on the subject and may be more willing to open up to me and take my advice as a result. This is important for those of us who claim to be allies. If I truly want to help my future students, then I need to be proactive and educate myself now on the possible types of students I will be working with so that when I am approached and asked about a particular situation, I will be ready.