In the past several months, as scores of candidates for state and federal office have courted New York's most influential constituencies and interest groups, Nick Whitehouse has had his sights set on an almost-forgotten minority: the homeless.
"Not surprisingly, when someone just became homeless, it's hard to see clearly and think that their vote matters," Whitehouse said. "The only way to get policy-makers to listen to you is to get involved in the process."
As a community organizer with the Partnership for the Homeless, an advocacy foundation, Whitehouse has helped conduct dozens of educational sessions and registration drives at the city's shelters and temporary residences during the ramp-up to Tuesday's election.
His efforts-and those of the partnership-seek to eliminate the significant hurdles standing between the homeless and the ability to vote, such as the lack of a permanent address and frequent misconceptions about election law.
"I think a lot of people don't realize that you can register on a street corner if you want to," Elana Shneyer, a fellow community organizer for the partnership, said. "There's a lot of this misinformation. People do not know they can vote."
Shneyer said that the importance of encouraging the homeless to vote was clear from the disproportionate participation of low-income voters nationally. According to the 2000 census, 82 percent of persons earning over $75,000 were registered to vote, compared to just 59 percent of those earning between $10,000 and $14,999.
The right to vote for those without a fixed address was guaranteed by Pitts v. Black, a 1984 federal court case. According to Shneyer, most of the 800-plus homeless voters that the organization helped register in 2006 put down a shelter or single room occupancy as their permanent address.
Shneyer also said that homeless individuals who have had a previous felony conviction often believe that they are ineligible to vote, but New York state law bars only current inmates and parolees from voting. Those who have already served their sentence regain that right.
"I spent two years locked up. They always said I couldn't vote after that," said Charles Simmons, who sells books and trinkets on sidewalks around the Upper West Side. When told that state law would allow him to vote, he responded, "For what? So I can stay homeless while another suit gets into office?"
On Thursday night Whitehouse, Shneyer, and other supporters of the partnership gathered at St. Paul and St. Andrew's Church on 86th Street and West End Avenue to discuss their registration efforts and plans for getting voters to the polls on Nov. 7.
Before a group of one dozen, Whitehouse recalled one participant of an informational session who had loudly criticized the partnership's efforts-only to have a change of heart. "As much as he talked about how he didn't care and how his vote didn't matter," Whitehouse said, "in the end, he registered."
Whitehouse was followed by Regina Eaton, deputy director of the Demos Democracy Program. Eaton said that New York would benefit from Election Day registration, which would remove the burden of having to register in advance-a frequent deterrent for homeless voters.
"They're actually running elections in urban areas without having people register 30 days in advance. And you know what? There isn't massive fraud," Eaton said, referring to Maine, Minnesota, and Wisconsin-all states that have adopted the same-day registration program.