It’s unclear just how many D.C. residents will vote in Tuesday’s traditionally low-turnout special election. Will more vote this time than in the last citywide special election, in 2011, when 46,967 voted — a 10.3 percent turnout? What we know is that of the 2,894 residents who cast ballots during early voting this year, scores were homeless. They were organized by Shelter, Housing and Respectful Change and the Washington Interfaith Network, which held a rally April 13 at a downtown homeless shelter, after which about 80 homeless residents voted.
“The central message was, ‘I am a voter,’” said the Rev. Mike Angell, an assistant rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church and a strategy team member for WIN. “So often we hear about the homeless as a problem, or as clients or guests of nonprofits. But the message is, our neighbors who live on the streets and in the shelters are residents of our city and should have a role in how the city spends its funds.”
Full Article: Homeless residents organize for D.C. special election.