So, according to
this MSNBC article, thousands of homeless people in Ohio are having their registrations challenged.
Earlier this year, I worked on a report for the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty on just this issue. The report is available here, and is free.
It includes a state-by-state breakdown of the laws on voting for the homeless. It also contains summaries of state law on ID requirements and on provisional ballots, which make it useful for anyone guarding democracy at the polls. I'm bringing it with me tonight when I volunteer at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, and it'll be with me when I go to Ohio. I hope other people find it useful too.
From the executive summary of the report (and if I could figure out the gray box thingie, I'd use it):
The information in this Report is intended to help homeless persons vote. The Report
explains:
· State laws that allow homeless persons to register and vote, even though they do
not live in a traditional dwelling.
· Individual state registration deadlines, which may be as long as 30 days before the
election.
· The importance of identifying the addresses of shelters, churches, government
offices, or other locations where homeless persons can check their mail regularly.
· Legal provisions that allow people who move within certain geographical areas
during an election period to vote, even if they have not provided advanced notice
to election officials of the move.
· How homeless people can meet new identification requirements.
· How to avoid burdensome identification requirements for first time mail-in
registrants by registering in person.
· Resources on how to become a voter registration agent or agency.
· Ideas for monitoring the impact of mailing address requirements and new
identification requirements to ensure that homeless persons are not
unconstitutionally disenfranchised.
· Ways to avoid losing voter registration through purges of registration lists.
· State-by-state information about the possible impact of felony convictions on the
right to vote, and how that right, if lost, may be restored.
· Ways to use the political process so that governmental representatives can help
make voting more accessible for people experiencing homelessness.