PORTLAND, Ore. — In an unprecedented push to empower homeless people to vote in next week’s election, more than 100 people living on Portland’s streets, in its shelters and in transitional housing are registered to cast ballots in Multnomah County. That’s thanks to a registration drive earlier this month, coordinated by the local newspaper Street Roots.
James Duby, who goes by “Pops," was one of the vendors who helped sign people up.
“If you want to see change, you've got to voice your opinion. You've got to help make that change happen,” he said.
His first recruit was pretty easy.
“Before we got started, I went ahead and registered to get it out of the way,” he said, noting he had been registered in another county prior to moving to the Portland area. “And then I could help others.”
Raven Drake, the ambassador program manager at Street Roots, ran the registration drive. It involved signing people up at a table outside the paper's Northwest Portland headquarters, as well as sending outreach teams into shelters and camps. The biggest hurdle, she said, was clearing a key piece of misinformation.
“Too many people in the houseless community are under the impression that, because of their status, they don't have that right,” Drake said. “And we want to educate them that it's the opposite. You have the right, and you should exercise the right.”
It is legal for unhoused people to register and vote in all 50 states. That said, the logistics of getting a ballot to someone without a home address are complicated. In Portland, nonprofits play a key role.
“If you do not have a physical address, there are many places where you can go, and they will allow you to use their address,” Duby said. “Street Roots is one of them.”
People can also list the Multnomah County Elections Office as the address on their registration.
Earlier this month, staff at the city’s and county’s Joint Office of Homeless Services sent out an email to service providers and the people they help, giving advice and information to help people without a permanent address vote. That includes inmates at the Multnomah County Jail, serving time for misdemeanor crimes. Under Oregon law, they are permitted to register and vote from jail.
A spokesman for the elections office confirmed staff have registered “dozens” in recent years. A person convicted of a felony can also vote in Oregon, but only after completing their sentence. They also must re-register after being released from prison.
In the end, Street Roots this month registered 125 homeless people to vote in November’s general election. As of Wednesday, most had picked up their ballots. The rest of the unopened, addressed envelopes, roughly 30, were sitting in a bright orange box in the paper’s front office. Staff plan to hand deliver them this week.
Oregon’s registration deadline was Oct. 13, but Drake said those who missed it shouldn’t lose hope.
“With this success of this [drive, we’re] intending to keep it going twice a year, during every local election,” she said.
Duby argued it's never been more important for those on our streets to have a voice.
“The homeless population has exploded since this pandemic began,” he said. “Little things like the cigarette tax… That's going to really impact some people. All the different measures… you've really got to think are they going to benefit people, or is it going to make life harder?”