Local shelters work to help the homeless vote

The Secretary of State’s Office in May identified more than 6,000 voters in Lucas County as “inactive,” but more than 100 of those individuals were registered with addresses of homeless shelters or rehabilitation facilities.

That leads to an important question: How accessible is voting for the area’s homeless population?

“Voting for those facing housing insecurity is absolutely a huge problem,” said Jen Miller, the executive director for the League of Women Voters of Ohio.

At Leading Families Home, four people were identified. Four more people were listed at La Posada Family Emergency Shelter. At the Joshua Treatment Center in Holland, seven people were named, and 12 people were identified at Empowered for Excellence Behavioral Health.

But at all four locations, staff members said they did not offer explicit services to help residents vote.

Homeless shelters and rehabilitation facilities aren’t required by the state to offer services, and some staff members said they would help residents the best they can. Others said case managers could drive residents to their polling site or help with filling out absentee ballots. Some said they did not help their residents because of their nonprofit status and didn’t want to limit their opportunities of applying for federal grants.

Across 12 centers, 137 Lucas County residents were flagged as inactive, which means they failed to vote, sign petitions, or update their information for six years. At each of these centers, the amount of time residents can stay varies between 50 and 120 days, or until they can get stable housing. However, for residents living in these facilities leading up to November, their access to resources can be limited.

Combating voting inaccessibility

At St. Paul’s Community Center, though, the resources are plentiful, and not just for residents.

The center offers community lunches to anyone, during which voter registration and absentee request forms are available starting mid-August.

For those living in the shelter, additional services are also offered. Two case managers are on site to take residents to the polls or obtain documents needed to register like a birth certificate, social security card, or photo ID. Anyone without a permanent address can use their location to receive mail.

Joe Habib, the executive director for St. Paul’s Community Center, said between 40 and 70 people actively use their address, which leads him to believe that the 14 people identified as inactive voters are no longer using it.

“That’s one of the obstacles that we’re trying to eliminate,” Mr. Habib said. “Because if you’re homeless, you’re homeless. They’re not going to mail it anywhere.”

Despite the access to resources, Mr. Habib said only about three out of 10 people will register to vote, but it’s still important to him that they provide the information.

Rachel Gardner, the director of victim services at the YWCA of Northwest Ohio, agreed, which is why they offer services to their residents as well.

“Exercising your right to vote is a decision that everybody should have the ability to exercise or not exercise as they so choose fit to do,” she said.

The YWCA celebrates National Voter Registration Day as a way to get people registered and update their information. This year, National Voter Registration Day is Sept. 17. The racial justice department spearheads the event and hands out information about where to vote, what residents need to vote, and information about issues and candidates on the ballot.

But like Mr. Habib, Ms. Gardner said they see very few people take advantage of the resources.

“We often see that our residents are prioritizing their other needs first,” Ms. Gardner said, naming food, safety, and shelter. “I don’t want to say that they’re not interested because that’s not the truth of it ... oftentimes if we have a lot of folks that are just newly here, they’re prioritizing their other needs first.”

Other ballot barriers

For those experiencing housing insecurity, an address is just one of the many challenges they face, Ms. Miller said.

Many people who don’t have a home may also not have access to a birth certificate, social security card, or state-issued ID. While some of these facilities can help retrieve lost identification, Ms. Miller said it’s just one more hurdle making it more difficult to vote in Ohio.

“Democracy works best when there are no barriers to access,” she said.

Voters can no longer use a photo ID issued from another state, a social security card, a birth certificate, any other government document, or proof of residency at the polls, a change made by the Secretary of State’s Office last year. That means voters will most likely need to visit their local BMV to get a driver’s license or state ID card. Passports and military ID cards are also accepted. The state provides free ID cards for those who don’t have a license.

Candace Buckley, the vice president of programs and services at Cherry Street Mission Ministries, said one of the greatest needs for their residents is state IDs, but accessibility is a barrier.

The closest BMV location was an eight minute walk from the ministry on Madison Avenue, but that location closed in June. Now, the closest BMV is on West Sylvania Avenue, a 10 minute drive. Last year, the ministry helped 1,867 people get a state-issued ID.

“We have provided transportation ... but it’s going to be a little bit more challenging,” Ms. Buckley said. “We have bus passes as well to support, but we don’t hand those out to the general public because there is a cost associated with that, but we’re committed to do whatever we can to help.”

The busing service is contracted through TARTA, and before IDs were free in Ohio, Ms. Buckley said they also covered the cost of those. The mission primarily relies on donor support.

Residents staying in the mission’s shelters — the Sparrow’s Nest or the Men’s House — can also use the mission’s address to receive their mail and medications. The shelter will keep receiving their mail for 30 days after the resident’s checkout day to give them time to update their address. For access to voter registration forms or absentee request forms, Ms. Buckley said any resource provider can connect with the ministry to distribute information to the residents in its Mac Street Cafe.

“We encourage them not to go out into the cafe and seek people out because we want people to want to engage,” Ms. Buckley said. “... Guests will just come over and get whatever they need at that time.”

In addition to the documents, Ms. Miller said many residents don’t have access to information on ballot issues or candidates, but leagues across Ohio are working to combat that.

“We have volunteers throughout the state holding social events, setting up at food banks, jails, community colleges, and shelters, registering people to vote and getting them information,” she said.

Ms. Miller said any shelter can contact its local league chapter to have them visit with information.

LaVera Scott, director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, said that her team contacts local facilities to ensure that voters are properly registered to avoid confusion at the polls. They also inform facilities of the absentee voting rules and registration deadlines and provide absentee request and registration forms as asked.

Voters deemed inactive by the Secretary of State’s Office were removed on July 22. Those voters will need to re-register by Oct. 7 to vote in November. Absentee and early voting starts Oct. 8.