Elections 2020: how the homeless in California will vote

In California, courts have ruled that homeless people can register to vote in places where they spend the most time, says "Voice of America".

Photo: Shutterstock

Volunteers are already working in these places, helping the homeless to deal with registration.

Tens of thousands of outdoor tents on the streets of Los Angeles. And new ones appear every month. According to official figures, the number of homeless people in the city and neighboring areas is constantly growing. At the moment, more than 66 thousand people live without a roof over their heads.

More recent information will appear after the population census.

“Across the state of California, including Los Angeles, many people in our communities have simply been left out,” said Troy Vaughn, director of Mission Los Angeles. “And so we work hard to make sure people are counted properly.”

Today there are certain rules for counting. For example, if a homeless person sleeps on the street, the census officer is not allowed to wake him up to record the data. Although, for a person to be counted, he just needs to put a tick in the booklet. By this time, some state shelters had already begun helping homeless people register to vote in November elections.

“There are a lot of misconceptions that homeless people don't care about anything other than their daily living needs,” Vaughn says. - It is not true. Now many people are losing their homes due to coronavirus. They lose their jobs and can't pay rent. So many people who are currently homeless do not necessarily have an addiction. They find themselves homeless due to circumstances.”

On the subject: Why Los Angeles attracts the homeless: how they live there

Paul has lived in Skid Row for many years. This central Los Angeles area is home to one of the largest and most stable homeless communities in the country.

Paul says he and other Skid Row residents often discuss the upcoming presidential election.

“I like both candidates,” Paul says. “One is still learning politics, the other has too much politics.”

In the 2016 elections, polling stations operated in homeless shelters. But this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, this has become impossible. But homeless people are allowed to use shelter addresses to receive mailing ballots.

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