With the midterms right around the corner, we examine the barriers that unhoused people face while voting. David told us, "It's like getting cold and, you know, it's like I'm outside." In New York your registration address can be a bench where you sleep. The National Low Income Housing Coalition wrote in 2024 that only about one in 10 homeless people cast a ballot, which is five times less than the general population.
Read the full transcript below:
Annie Bennett: This is Northeast Notebook. I'm Annie Bennett.
Chastity Henry: It's not my role to tell someone how to vote - but that they have the access to register.
Annie Bennett: Even without a permanent home, unhoused people are eligible to vote.
Andre: Why is it every time I vote, it gets worse?
Annie Bennett: But voter turnout among the homeless is exceptionally low.
Clyanna Lightbourn: So, there is a really great, concerted effort to get folks who are living on the streets involved in voting and civic access.
Annie Bennett: In 2025, New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli estimated that there are over 145,000 people in the state experiencing homelessness. And according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, marginalized communities like LGBTQ+ people and people of color are more likely to fall into this category.
James Anthony Farmer: If we can register every Black vote, it'd be so much.
Annie Bennett: With the midterm elections right around the corner, we'll examine the barriers that unhoused people face while voting. It's easy to assume that an American would need an address to vote in an election. But in New York at least, the law is actually is very clear: your registration address could be as simple as a bench you sleep on, cross-streets you hang out at, or anywhere you typically stay. Even so, the National Low Income Housing Coalition wrote in 2024 that only about 1 in 10 unhoused people cast a ballot, which is five times less than the general population. I went to Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless, a center in Albany, to find out why. There, I met Andre. He had a voter registration form stapled to an EBT recertification paper.
Andre: This comes from the Department of Social Services, Albany County Department of Social Services.
Annie Bennett: But Andre insisted that he did not ask for the voter registration form.
Andre: Absolutely not.
Annie Bennett: And when I asked him why, he was pretty clear that he didn't really see the point in voting.
Andre: Cause why? 'Cause (the) only thing I needed was, like, I just wanted to get the EBT… It's just getting worse. Why (is it) every time I vote, it gets worse?
Annie Bennett: When I walked into the common area at IPH, an employee announced that I was there to talk about voting. Someone immediately told me that they didn't care about politics. They cared about finding a place to live. Long term housing policy was on the back burner for someone focused on short term survival. This is David, another patron of the free breakfast that was being provided.
David: So, me and her - my disabled wife – we’ve been outside three months and a half now.
Annie Bennett: David doesn't really understand the voting process, and when I asked him what support he would need to vote, he told me that his priorities are a little different.
David: Like, right now I need housing and it's like getting cold and, you know, it's like I'm outside.
Annie Bennett: I asked David if he was registered to vote. He thought he was, under an old address that his wife reminded him the number of, but when we checked online, nothing came up. David told me that no one had ever checked his registration before now, and even if he was registered, he wouldn't know where to go to vote.
David: Nope, I don't know how to do all that.
James Anthony Farmer: But if you can get somebody to bring (to) them people… They (are) scared 'cause the world is in turmoil, so they think. You just have to have the right pillar to have people in the projects and people in the hood to come out and vote.
Annie Bennett: James Anthony Farmer says he is homeless but…
James Anthony Farmer: All this pavement is really mine.
Annie Bennett: Unlike David, James told me that he knows how to vote. He knows it matters. But persuading a frustrated and exhausted community to participate is difficult. Both men demonstrated to me that while access to information is helpful, it's constant energy depletion that really keeps the unhoused out of poll sites. The National Alliance to End Homelessness says the unhoused "frequently live with one or more chronic diseases" as well as citing mental health and addiction issues.
David: At the end of the day, we shouldn't have to sleep there. Like, we should be able to get housed that- you know, there's no housing. They don't want to house nobody.
Annie Bennett: James Anthony Farmer also told WAMC that he sees race and class as linked. And he’s not alone. The National Alliance to End Homelessness found that in 2020 over 40 percent of the unhoused population was Black, despite just making up 13% of the general population.
James Anthony Farmer: If we can register every Black vote, it'd be so much. If you can find a person that can make the connection to the illiteracy about voting with the Black man not being educated enough to understand that the vote is powerful, you can really affect the president.
Annie Bennett: To make the process as low-effort as possible, the League of Women Voters of New York organizes registration drives in shelters. By tabling, they hope to reach the community where they're at. Their campaign director, Clyanna Lightbourn, says these issues of disenfranchisement are all connected.
Clyanna Lightbourn: Well, I did want to say, it is an increasing issue, as we see folks really not attaining a living wage when they're working. We do have a record number of people living in their cars, um, being houseless in general. So, this is something that we really want to address now.
Annie Bennett: Clyanna argues that the cyclical nature of poverty is causing low voter turnout. She says that if the government doesn't pass minimum wage laws that pay people enough to afford shelter, and then make policies confusing for voters without shelter, nobody is then being elected to make changes to those wages. And so, Clyanna claims, the cycle goes on and on. The League of Women Voters says one big problem is misinformation. Even without an address, you can register to vote, but you have to know how.
Clyanna Lightbourn: There are a number of things folks can do. You can get your mail delivered to the shelter that you're staying at. And, when you vote, or rather when you register to vote, and they ask for an address, you can usually just put the cross streets of where you're living, or where you typically stay, if that makes sense. So, there is a really great concerted effort to get folks who are living on the streets involved in voting and civic access.
Annie Bennett: One of the shelters that LWV collaborates with is House of Mercy in Rochester, New York. Chastity Henry is a senior social worker and helped build the partnership.
Chastity Henry: There is a voter registration table set centrally, in a common area at the shelter. And so it gives the choice and autonomy for the guest to approach a table to ask questions voluntarily. The League of Women Voters are stationed at that table with literature about voting, about polling locations, about who are your elected officials, who is running on a ballot at this time, and also misconceptions about voting if you have a felony. And we usually schedule League of Women Voters to come before or after a mealtime when we have the most foot traffic.
Annie Bennet: How has that been received?
Chastity Henry: There is interest and, I think having someone available in shelter makes it easier for the guests to ask questions about registration process, voting, and just learning more. So, it definitely gathers a lot of interest.
Annie Bennett: But awarding the right on paper doesn't always translate to practice.
Chastity Henry: Typically, your polling location is tied to residency, so that's already an initial barrier of being unhoused. So being educated on what are your options, such as early voting or doing a change of address. Or even, no matter how complicated your situation, you have someone there to help navigate those challenges. Some other barriers would be maybe misinformation about registration requirements or even just where to start. So having someone meeting them where they are here in shelter. And lastly, another barrier would be transportation.
Annie Bennett: Chastity sees the right to vote as crucial for the people she works with.
Chastity Henry: I do think it's important for people to have access to information and opportunities to participate in civic engagement and community. It's not my role to tell someone how to vote, but that- that they have the access to register and the access for the information, whether they choose to register or, or no matter how they choose to vote or not.
Annie Bennett: And James Anthony Farmer agrees.
James Anthony Farmer: The world is yours if you have the power to vote. God Bless America.
Annie Bennett: Northeast Notebook is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Our executive producer is Lucas Willard. Our editor is Diane Devore. Original music by Eduardo Rivera. Consider subscribing to Northeast Notebook wherever you get your podcasts. And if you enjoyed the show, or hey, even if you didn't, we'd love for you to rate and review. It's just one small way you can support public radio. This episode was hosted and produced by me, Annie Bennett. Thank you for listening.
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