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Criminally underserved and unheard by the public, the homeless population in the United States is one of the most marginalized groups in recent history. People experiencing homelessness lack access to basic care and resources meant to be universal human rights, and because of the inaccessible nature of voter registration, they are unable to do anything about it. Even in Rhode Island, one of the only states to enact a Homeless Bill of Rights, there is a lack of information and accessibility regarding voter identification requirements and resources. During the 2020 election, pre-existing problems were only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which many states chose to largely rely on mail vote ballots, adding another item to the long list of obstacles that lie between people experiencing homelessness and voting.
The 2020 general election simply proved how little people care about this section of society: despite the countless voter turnout efforts started by organizations on the left and right across the country, very few were focused on the significant homeless population, further extenuating the cycle of disenfranchisement that is haunting the community. One of the few, Pathways to Housing, helped register members of the community during the election, but their efforts were hampered by the barriers of not having an address or valid identification documents.
The United States, despite its relatively low voter turnout compared to other similarly developed nations, had a turnout rate of over 67 percent in the 2020 election for the general public. However, only 10 percent of the homeless population, which accounts for more than 500,000 people, were even registered to vote. For the US to truly live up to its democratic ideals, and for political parties to claim any semblance of caring about equity and equality, there must be a greater movement to stop the systematic disenfranchisement of the homeless and to allow them to fully exercise the rights and privileges of their citizenship.
Like every other aspect of...