Casting a ballot may be the last thing on your mind if you’re homeless but election officials say everyone’s voice matters. Even if you don’t have an address, you still have the right to vote here in Virginia.
Charlottesville City Councilor Kristin Szakos is taking voter registration to The Haven, where many didn’t know they can cast a ballot. “I think that when people’s lives are difficult, it’s hard to think about things like civic participation,” she said.
Sheri Iachetta is the city’s voter registrar and she wants to see more homeless voters coming out to the polls. “The people who are homeless don’t realize that they have the opportunity to register and vote. That’s what we’re realizing,” she said.
The catch is people without a permanent place to live still need to register an address where they can receive mail. “A permanent address is what’s going to put a person in a specific precinct and is going to allow them to have the person to vote for,” stated Iachetta.
It can be a shelter, a church, or even a friend’s house; but it’s not always easy.
University of Virginia Law Professor Dan Ortiz said, “There are a lot of requirements that impose burdens on the homeless and their right to exercise the vote and make it more difficult.”
Full Article: Homeless Have Right to Cast a Ballot – NBC29.