Voting Rights of Homeless Residents
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by Kirk Ah Tye
I. Introduction
With the emergence of homelessness as a major poverty
issue nationally, an incipient litigation matter has become whether
homeless persons have the right to vote in local and national
elections. Many homeless persons have been refused the right
to register to vote. The purpose of this article is to show the
existence of a trend begun in various jurisdictions across the
country in which voting rights of homeless residents have been
upheld on equal protection grounds. The article will also
address the predominant issues involved in this kind of lawsuit,
including residency, voter fraud, administrative feasibility, and
the nexus between homeless voters and their communities. The
article refers to favorable adjudications in the eastern cases of
Pitts v. Black,' a decision rendered by a federal district court in
New York; In re Applications for Voter Registration of Jenkins,2
a decision by the District of Columbia Board of Elections and
Ethics; Committee for Dignity & Fairness for the Homeless v.
Tartaglione,3 a ruling by a federal court in Pennsylvania; and
the recently decided case on the western coast, Collier v.
Menzel,4 which is a state court ruling.
The author is the Managing Attorney of the Santa Barbara office of
Channel Counties Legal Services Association, Balboa Bldg., 923 Olive
St., Suite 2, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, (805) 963-5981.
1. Pitts v. Black, 608 E Supp. 696 (S.D.N.Y. 1984) (Clearinghouse
No. 38,514).
2. In re Applications for Voter Registration of Willie R. Jenkins (D.C.
Bd. of Elections & Ethics June 7, 1984) [hereinafter cited as In re
Jenkins].
3. Committee for Dignity & Fairness for the Homeless v. Tartaglione,
No. 84-3447 (E.D. Pa. July 18, 1984) [hereinafter cited as Com-
mittee for the Homeless].
4. Collier v. Menzel, 221 Cal. Rptr. 110 (Ct. App. 1985) (Clearing-
house No. 40,884A) (amicus brief). Channel Counties Legal Ser-
vices Association represented amicus curiae, Santa Barbara Home-
less Coalition, in the appeal of this action and participated in oral
argument before the California Court of Appeal.
A salient reason why the right to vote is so imperative to
homeless persons generally is that they should be provided the
opportunity to affect the political process to benefit their lives
and remedy or alleviate their plight. Individually, the right to
vote constitutes a fundamental interest indivisible from the
inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as
set forth in the federal Constitution.
In the above-cited cases, the plaintiffs-petitioners sought
to register to vote in a timely manner but were denied this right
by the respective voter registrars. All plaintiffs are citizens of
the United States and residents of the precincts or wards in
which they attempted to register. Additionally, they have reached
the minimum age to vote, have no felony convictions, are not
mentally incompetent, have mailing addresses, and, but for the
lack of traditional housing or a fixed address, are generally
eligible to vote.
II. Constitutional Policy and State and
Federal Laws Promoting and Broadening
the Right to Vote
Foremost among all political rights for United States
citizens is the right to vote,5 and the granting of the franchise
constitutes the foundation of our representative society. 6 The
right to vote is expressly provided in the United States Constitution7
and in state constitutions.
The right to vote is also the subject of eminent federal
legislation that reflects national policy, such as 42 U.S.C. §
1971, which entitles all qualified U.S. citizens the right to vote
at all elections without distinction of race, color, or previous
5. Palla v. Suffolk County Bd. of Elections, 286 N.E.2d 248 (N.Y.
1972).
6. Kramer v. Union Free School Dist. No. 15, 395 U.S. 621, 626
(1969) (Clearinghouse No. 2042).
7. U.S. CoNsT. art. XV, § 1.
JULY 1986](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/clear20&div=37&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Voting Rights of Homeless Residents
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