WEBVTT - How Do Homeless Americans Vote?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Bogelbaum here. Voting is the cornerstone of

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<v Speaker 1>American democracy, but it can be a bit of a pain.

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<v Speaker 1>Election day in the US is always a Tuesdays back

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<v Speaker 1>in the middle of the work week. If you move

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<v Speaker 1>to a new state or county, you need to reregister,

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<v Speaker 1>and state voter I D requirements change all the time,

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<v Speaker 1>so you could possibly show up to a polling station,

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<v Speaker 1>wait in line, and still get turned away. Now, imagine

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<v Speaker 1>that you're homeless in America or unhoused, which is an

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<v Speaker 1>often preferred term because, after all, home can mean a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of things. You might move around too frequently to

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<v Speaker 1>maintain a stable mailing address. You might have lost your

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<v Speaker 1>state issued I D let alone your Social Security card

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<v Speaker 1>and birth certificate. You might not be able to afford

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<v Speaker 1>transportation to the county elections office or your local polling place,

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<v Speaker 1>and frankly, you probably have a lot more pressing problems

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<v Speaker 1>than registering to vote. So while unhoused people have every

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<v Speaker 1>right to vote in US elections and have a vested

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<v Speaker 1>interest in influencing policy on housing and poverty, the obstacles

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<v Speaker 1>to successfully registering and voting while unhoused can be insurmountable. First,

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<v Speaker 1>there's the residents and mailing address issue. Interestingly, none of

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<v Speaker 1>the fifty states requires that voters live in a traditional residence.

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<v Speaker 1>On voter registration forums, you can put a shelter address,

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<v Speaker 1>a street corner, a park bench. You can even attach

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<v Speaker 1>a hand drawn map, and that's fine for establishing that

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<v Speaker 1>you're a resident of the state and county. But many

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<v Speaker 1>states also required that you provide a mailing address where

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<v Speaker 1>you can actually receive mail. Again, that can be a

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<v Speaker 1>shelter or a friend or relative's house, but it cannot

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<v Speaker 1>be a p O box, and it can't be a

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<v Speaker 1>park bench. While it's easy for many Americans to provide

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<v Speaker 1>an alternate address where they could receive mail, that's not

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<v Speaker 1>always the case for people who don't have a fixed

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<v Speaker 1>stidents and without a fixed address to receive election notices

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<v Speaker 1>from the county clerk's office, Unhoused voters can be wiped

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<v Speaker 1>from voter registration roles. We spoke with Tristia Bauman, senior

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<v Speaker 1>attorney with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

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<v Speaker 1>She referenced to the laws that criminalize sleeping or camping

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<v Speaker 1>in public places, and said it's important to remember that

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<v Speaker 1>homelessness is an inherently unstable state. Those laws have the

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<v Speaker 1>effect of displacing people from the areas where they normally

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<v Speaker 1>live and have connections. The lack of an address and

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<v Speaker 1>the lack of ability to stay in one location lawfully

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<v Speaker 1>conspired to make it ever more difficult for homeless people

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<v Speaker 1>to register to vote or vote by mail. Lack of

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<v Speaker 1>identification is another big challenge for unhoused voters, as there

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<v Speaker 1>are ten states was strict ID laws, meaning that you

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<v Speaker 1>cannot vote on election day without presenting some kind of

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<v Speaker 1>valid government issued identification. Another twenty four states had non

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<v Speaker 1>strict or i D laws that allow voters without an

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<v Speaker 1>i D to sign an affidavit swearing to their identity.

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<v Speaker 1>Even in states without voter ID laws, first time voters

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<v Speaker 1>registering online or by mail are required to provide a

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<v Speaker 1>driver's license number or copies of a utility bill, bank statement,

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<v Speaker 1>or other document certifying their residency. If they fail to

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<v Speaker 1>provide identification during first time registration, they'll be asked to

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<v Speaker 1>show an i D on election day. While obtaining a

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<v Speaker 1>driver's license or state issued i D is free in

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<v Speaker 1>most states, that doesn't mean it's easy for an unhoused

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<v Speaker 1>person to jump through the administrative hoops to make it happen. Poor, elderly,

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<v Speaker 1>and unhoused people are far more likely to not have

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<v Speaker 1>a state issued i D, which is why voter ID

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<v Speaker 1>laws have been challenged as discriminatory. Then there's the issue

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<v Speaker 1>of safeguarding personal property. Even if an unhoused person is

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<v Speaker 1>lucky enough to have an ID in their possession, there

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<v Speaker 1>are many ways for those documents to get lost or stolen,

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<v Speaker 1>even at the hands of police. A Ballman said, local

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<v Speaker 1>governments often respond to illegal homeless encampments by coming in

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<v Speaker 1>and doing a clean up that results in the seizure

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<v Speaker 1>and destruction of a homeless person's property. You could potentially

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<v Speaker 1>lose your i D, or your birth certificate or Social

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<v Speaker 1>Security card, or any of the other prerequisite items that

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<v Speaker 1>you need to register. The good news is that advocacy

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<v Speaker 1>groups like the National Coalition for the Homeless have created

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<v Speaker 1>resources like a Voting Rights Guide to help shelters, drop

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<v Speaker 1>in centers, food pantries, and other nonprofit groups organize voter

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<v Speaker 1>registration drives to help unhoused individuals register and get to

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<v Speaker 1>the polls. And despite the daunting bureaucratic hurdles facing unhoused voters.

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<v Speaker 1>There are a handful of states that specifically offer exemptions

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<v Speaker 1>for unhoused citizens, a trend that will hopefully continue. In Indiana,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, which is a strict photo I D state,

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<v Speaker 1>you can register and vote without an I D if

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<v Speaker 1>you claim indigent status. And in Oregon, unhoused voters can

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<v Speaker 1>use the county election office is address as their mailing address.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. For more on listen lots of other topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production

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