Registering to vote can be a confusing process for many people, but for those living in shelters, temporary housing or on the street, getting to the polls is an even greater challenge.
The bottom line for homeless or low-income residents, or residents whove been through troubles and traumas in their life is they dont have identification, explains Mark Townsend of the non-profit Portland Hotel Society. They dont have picture ID. They dont have the bits of paper that you need to be a person in our society.
Yet many low-income and homeless residents have strong political views, Townsend says, and value the chance to vote.
Each time an election looms, the Portland Hotel Society mobilizes to reach out to low-income voters in the Downtown Eastside by putting up posters, helping residents get ID and busing them to polling stations, Townsend says. He doesnt ask how people vote, but often times residents volunteer. They vote from everything to Reform to NDP to Liberal to Green.
To get around the issue of ID, social services providers have worked with Elections Canada to ensure polling stations will accept community IDs supplied through the Life Skills Centre, letters of identification from Welfare services, or banking documents from Pigeon Park Savings run by VanCity.
Elections Canada also conducts outreach for low-income and homeless voters, according to spokesperson Susan Friend. Especially in our downtown area in Vancouver East and Vancouver Centre, we have community relations officers specifically dealing with homeless, she says.
Community relations officers have been making the rounds visiting 50 shelters, soup kitchens, community centres and SRO hotels to register homeless voters since March 30. Friend says this outreach is conducted every time theres a federal election, however Statistics Canada doesnt track how many homeless and low-income voters make it to the polls. Friend adds that people without a permanent address can use many different items to prove their identity, like library cards, health cards and B.C. IDs and can obtain letters of attestation from soup kitchens, community centres or shelters they regularly visit as proof of residence.
But the Portland Hotels Townsend points out that even with the proper ID, casting a ballot on election day can be more of a challenge for low-income residents. Just like the general population they do want to have a say but it is harder, and sometimes its harder because lifes shit and theyre not doing well that day; that day, theyre just worried about not dying. But outside of that, people are interested.
In Vancouvers Downtown Eastside, a homeless resident named Bill says he has a hard time keeping track of when elections are occurring while living on the street, but he is thinking about voting in the upcoming federal election on May 2.
I may be able to if I get my butt down there, he says, adding he has picture ID.
Brandiz Hotel resident Gwen Paul says she is keen to vote in the upcoming election, but needs help registering and getting up to speed on election issues. Everybody has a say so, I just dont understand it, she says, adding she only has photocopies of her ID.
To get informed, Paul says shes asked legal advocates at the Downtown Eastside Womens Centre to help her register and find information on the different parties and candidates running in her riding.
Theyre going to host an information day to help us understand, she says, adding that while many women in the Downtown Eastside arent on top of political ins and outs, there are pressing issues theyd like to see candidates address, such as the inquiry into missing women in the area.
Darryl Binkley, another Brandiz resident was more noncommittal about whether hell turn up to vote on election day. Probably, if Im around, he says.
