Inside the Push to Target L.A.’s 45,000 Homeless in the Fight for Votes

(Editor’s note: this ran on Westside Current on November 4, 2024, and is reprinted with permission.)

By JAMIE PAIGE, RACHAEL GAUDIOSI, CHRIS LEGRAS

A homeless man named Robert stood on the corner of 5th and Los Angeles on Skid Row. The city’s noise and the ammonia stench were backdrops as he tried to remember the last few days. He stood among clusters of tents, makeshift shelters, shopping carts, and personal belongings that spilled onto the street. Like many homeless people in Los Angeles, he has difficulty recalling basic details of his life, like where he’d had his last meal, and even where he’d slept last night.

When it comes to more nuanced details, he finds himself at a complete loss, such as whether or not he is registered to vote.

“I think I registered somewhere,” he said, eyes narrowing as he strained to recall the details. He remembered there was a group, someone who seemed willing to help, but little else. “Honestly, I just did it.”

In Los Angeles, where every vote can influence tight political races, a growing number of campaigns have turned to an unexpected community: the city’s 45,000 unhoused residents. This demographic, larger than the population of many other U.S. cities, has become a potential electoral asset amid recent changes that ease voter registrations.

The Westside Current launched a months-long investigation, interviewing over 300 homeless individuals and examining thousands of records. The findings highlight deep-seated confusion among the homeless: many weren’t sure if they were registered, didn’t know where to pick up their ballots, and couldn’t remember how they registered in the first place. The resulting data revealed a system that, while designed for inclusivity, is susceptible to manipulation, raising critical ethical and legal concerns.

Under California law, individuals without a fixed address can register to vote using shelters, the cross-streets where they sleep, or nearby parks and service centers as the address where they live. Consequently, thousands of homeless individuals have registered with unconventional addresses—including locations such as Whole Foods, cannabis dispensaries, jails, and harm reduction centers. While this change aims to give homeless people a voice in local politics, it also creates opportunities for potential exploitation of those who are mentally or emotionally vulnerable.

According to Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, there are now at least 800 registered voters using intersection addresses and 5,500 more who list shelters or service centers as their addresses.

“They can register to vote, list the cross-street where they spend most of their time, or the shelter they’re staying at, which ensures they get the most localized ballot,” Logan said.

A Homeless Voting System That’s Ripe for Exploitation

Melba Strouth, a resident of the Cecil Hotel in the Skid Row area, is listed in a voter database as a recently registered voter. However, Strouth expressed uncertainty about how or when she registered, speculating that she may have done it online. Although she has not yet received her ballot, she seemed unconcerned about the delay, explaining, “It takes them a minute to go through the mail at my building.”

At the San Pedro House, a homeless facility at 647 San Pedro Street, where a mandated voter registration meeting was held, a resident insisted she had not registered to vote, despite Los Angeles County records indicating otherwise. When informed of her active registration, she still claimed she hadn’t completed the process and was planning to register soon. Unbeknownst to her, a valid absentee ballot had already been sent in her name to this location.

Ruth, another resident of a homeless facility just up the street, expressed surprise upon learning she was registered to vote. She noted that she hadn’t received a ballot in the mail, although an information packet had arrived.

Another woman at the 6th Street Place affordable housing facility told us she could not access her mailbox to fill out her absentee ballot because she lost her mailbox key.

Several residents in a dilapidated building on San Pedro Boulevard recalled a recent voter registration drive yet could not identify its organizers. “We were mandated to go,” one resident said. Records indicated that numerous individuals in the building were registered under the same apartment number.  We asked if they were told how, when, and from whom they would get their ballots. They couldn’t answer these questions.

In Santa Monica’s Christine Reed Emerson Park, Rex, a homeless individual from Denver, recounted how he was encouraged to register to vote shortly after arriving in Los Angeles. “They came around and made sure all of us were registered,” he said. However, he did not receive a ballot and did not know where it was sent. He couldn’t recall who organized the drive.

Homeless Voters Increase but Verification Lags

In just the Skid Row area, 259 voters are registered at homeless service centers or nightly shelters. Among these were The Weingart Access Center with 55 voter registrations, The Midnight Mission with 63, The Union Rescue Mission at 23, and The Los Angeles Mission with 53. Only 102 voters included a contact number- 36% were out of service.

At the Downtown Women’s Center, 24 people registered to vote within the last few weeks. Only three of the nine provided phone numbers are currently in service. Two of the numbers we called were owned by different people entirely, with no association to the registered voter whatsoever.

Out of the over 700 Skid Row voter registrations we analyzed, less than half (42%) provided phone numbers associated with their name and address. After eliminating numbers that are currently out of service or invalid, just under 27% of these records have a viable callback number. Our list also contained 13 addresses at probable retail spaces, only one of which included a phone number. It had a full mailbox and we received no return call.

This issue is particularly significant because, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office, ballot verifications often rely on a simple phone call when irregularities arise—such as non-standard addresses like cross streets, or when a signature doesn’t match the one on file.  If the person can’t be reached the ballot is thrown out or “rejected”, but we will have to wait until after November 5 to uncover statistics on how often this happens.

Along with Skid Row homeless service shelters, affordable housing units also saw an atypical increase in voter registration, bringing in nearly 200 new voters within the last couple viable weeks of voter registration.

In addition, three crisis centers show up on the list of newly registered voters. More than 80 ballots will be mailed to The Corner of Hope Mental Health Service Center, The Volunteers of America Alcohol Services, Los Angeles Centers For Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and The Homeless Health Care Los Angeles Center For Harm Reduction.

What Happens When Ballots Get Delivered to Homeless Voters? 

We asked a Midnight Mission representative, who explained that when ballots arrive, they are held for individuals and placed in their designated mailboxes. If unclaimed, the ballots are sent back to the post office. When asked about the process for verifying the identity of the person receiving the ballot, the representative acknowledged they weren’t certain how that step was handled.

Enter ballot harvesting—where third parties collect and submit ballots on behalf of voters.  Recent changes to the state’s ballot collection rules have added layers of complexity to California’s election process. Before 2013, only disabled or ill voters could designate someone –typically a family or household member– to return their ballots. But in 2016, Assembly Bill 1921 was passed. It allows any individual to collect and return ballots – including paid or volunteer workers for political committees or organizations– as long as they are not compensated per ballot returned.

While the bill aimed to increase voter participation, evidence suggests these changes may also lead to the exploitation of vulnerable populations that struggle to keep track of their registration status and voter mailing address.

Steve Brown, formerly unhoused in Venice, described tactics he witnessed, such as payments of $10 offered for registration. “That’s drug money to someone out here, and they’ll take it, not knowing what it all means,” he said, adding that “they prey on the homeless because they know no one’s going to check.”

Brown also expressed frustration with the repeated arrival of his late wife’s ballot, despite numerous attempts to remove her from the voter rolls. “Every time it comes, I feel this deep frustration. She’s gone, and I don’t want her used like this,” he said, adding that his efforts to rectify the issue have been met with bureaucratic roadblocks. “It’s exhausting. I can’t deal with it anymore, especially with politics being what it is.”

A recent arrival from Arizona was interviewed in Venice and told us he was encouraged to register despite planning to stay in the area for only a few days. He described being approached and guided through the entire process by a group who assured him he was eligible to vote in Los Angeles due to his temporary stay. He did not say what address his ballot was being sent to.

Another instance involved a woman living in her van, who said she participated in the registration process for the $10 offered. She recounted how a group approached her, offering to help with registration and to return her completed ballot when it was ready to be mailed. Though she wasn’t entirely clear on the specifics of her eligibility, she went along with the process. “They made it sound like I should do it right then,” she said, noting the group’s persistence in having her agree to complete and return her ballot. Again, she did not say what address her ballot would be sent to, or how she would be contacted to complete it when it arrived.

Previous reports by CBS documented alleged cases of individuals being offered cash or cigarettes in exchange for signatures on ballot documents. While some organizations and advocacy groups genuinely seek to empower homeless voters, the dependency on outside assistance has also opened a door for potential misuse, making Skid Row a focal point in the ongoing battle over ballot security and voter autonomy. In 2020, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged four men with participating in that scheme.

When Does Empowerment Become Coercion?

Among the most active groups involved in ballot harvesting efforts in Los Angeles is the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which promotes voter engagement as part of its strategy. The DSA’s website provides canvassers with a step-by-step guide to assist voters aligned with their preferred candidates throughout the voting process, often offering to deliver completed ballots directly to election offices to prevent them from “getting lost in the mail or city bureaucracy.”

The guidance from DSA canvassers is thorough: after verifying whether the voter has received their ballot, canvassers often prompt them up to three times to locate and complete it while reinforcing the message that their votes should align with DSA values. Some canvassers even assist with signing and filling out ballots, marking “Volunteer” as their relationship to the voter—a seemingly benign detail but one that raises accountability concerns, mainly when the same volunteer names repeatedly appear on multiple ballots. We asked the county registrar for data on how frequently this occurs in an email that has yet to be returned.

Mimi Kennedy, Advisory Board Chair for Progressive Democrats of America, described these tactics to reach homeless voters as “aggressive canvassing” and called them “wrong.” She underscored that her primary mission has been to secure paper ballots as a standard for election integrity—a cause she has championed since 2002. She noted that responsibility for ballot and election oversight falls not with the County Voter Registration office but with the Sheriff’s Department.

Overall, Voting Security Measures Are Working

Signature verification, initially intended as a safeguard, has introduced its own barriers: over half of the ballots flagged for mismatched signatures in the 2022 state audit were left uncounted, often due to inconsistencies in handwriting among seniors, disabled individuals, and those experiencing homelessness. In the 2022 primaries, the rejection rate for signature discrepancies averaged 0.7%, climbing to 1.01% in the general election, with variations across counties.

In Orange County, Registrar of Voters Bob Page recently outlined their extensive security protocols in response to public concerns. With 85% of voters expected to use mail-in ballots, Orange County has invested $4 million in expanding its sorting and verification capacities.

Signature verifications are carefully matched with public records, and ballots flagged for discrepancies are promptly returned to voters for confirmation. Page emphasized the thoroughness of these measures, aiming to reassure the public amid heightened scrutiny.

Back in Los Angeles, it’s unclear if anything will change to safeguard the votes of the homeless population. Our investigation will continue after the election, as we reconnect with the same individuals to see if they voted, whether their ballots were counted, and if those ballots successfully made it through the process.

“I’m going to see if my wife’s ballot was used. It’s not right. This isn’t right,” said Brown. “I’ll vote. We need to get people the real help they need.”