Low-income and housing-insecure individuals face more barriers to voting, and every election season Homeless Voices for Justice (HVJ) conducts the “You Don’t Need a Home to Vote” campaign to educate individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty about their voting rights.
Many individuals might not know that US citizens in Maine have a right to vote regardless of any felony convictions or that anyone without a fixed address can vote by writing “unsheltered at the intersection of ____ and ____” in the section designated for “residence address.” The campaign informs voters of these rights and provides information about requesting an absentee ballot or identifying polling locations.
The campaign has already registered 42 people to vote(!!), since June 2024, and will continue to visit Preble Street programs and the City of Portland’s Homeless Services Center until Election Day (Tuesday, November 5th).
Photos from HVJ’s candidates’ forums dating back to 2006
“It’s exciting to engage with everyone [at the different programs] about the topic because it brings up other issues that people want to be heard,” says Lisa Franklin, an advocate with HVJ. “It’s an opportunity, at the very least, to let people have a voice and have your ear for a minute.”
To help people make informed voting decisions, HVJ compiles a voting guide that has information on every candidate running for local, state, or federal office in the Portland area. The HVJ voting guide highlights the candidates’ stances on issues like housing, homelessness, and food insecurity and is made available to those who register to vote at the HSC or at a Preble Street program. It will be live on our website before the election. In the meantime, you can review HVJ’s 2023 Voting Guide.
Candidates’ forums are another long-standing tradition of the “You Don’t Need a Home to Vote” campaign. This year, HVJ will host three separate candidates’ forums across the city to provide people experiencing homelessness an opportunity to speak directly to the candidates running to represent them.
This year’s election will take place on November 5th, 2024. Are you registered to vote? Register to vote here today.
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