Golden Hall, one of the city of San Diego's shelters, is just a stone's throw from city hall. The people who live in the shelter often feel like their voices are not heard by the politicians working just across the Civic Plaza courtyard.
"I’ve seen some of the people that do speak about homelessness on television, and they’re stepping over the guy laying on the sidewalk just like everyone else," said Errol Kelly, 55, who stays at Golden Hall.
Candidates running across San Diego have been touting plans to tackle homelessness. The talking points and discourse impact real people, like Kelly, who can use their lived experience to inform how they vote this fall.
“Lots of people who are unhoused spend a lot of time at the library," said Kelly, who told NBC 7 he has voted in all but two elections for which he has been eligible. "Use the computers, go online; you can go to the DMV website, just Google ‘Register to vote." You’re at the library; they register people."
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Per the California Secretary of State, people do not need a permanent home to cast a ballot, but the National Low Income Housing estimates only 10% of unhoused people vote in national elections.
Day-to-day struggles like where to sleep or where their next meal is coming from, can take precedence over heading to the polls. Kelly, however, who has a job and sees a "dim light" at the end of the tunnel, said voting in this election, after experiencing homelessness, feels more consequential than ever.
" 'Cause it’s you — it matters 'cause this is you,” Kelly said. “When it trickles down, the people who feel the effects are the people who are most in need of change.”
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“It could be a cross street, a homeless shelter, and if they have a mailing address, they can receive their official ballot in the mail at that mailing address, as well as their voter materials,” said Cynthia Paes, the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.
If a homeless person doesn't have a mailing address (for instance, a P.O. box at a shelter facility), Paes said, they can vote at one of the 235 vote centers spread throughout the county, hopefully accessible by foot or public transportation.
“Some of these local contests and measures impact you more closely,” said Paes. "We encourage folks to participate in elections, have their voice heard.”
