It can be hard to vote when homeless, but these advocates aim to help people cast a ballot

As the provincial election approaches, one question stands out: Are all Ontarians genuinely able to participate?

Voting can be a struggle for those experiencing homelessness. Without an address to receive a voter information card or regular access to the internet, many can lack access to critical information, such as where they can vote. Some also do not have the proper identification to qualify to vote.  

Eric Phillip, CEO of Threshold Home and Supports, a Kitchener, Ont., non-profit focused on supportive housing, says because unhoused people have no fixed address, they cannot register to vote or receive a voting information card.

"Voting is very easy if you have a home," he said. "You need a fixed address in order to be recognized. You need to prove that you live in that area."

A point-in-time count completed on Oct. 22 found 2,371 individuals said they were experiencing homelessness in Waterloo region.

That's up from 1,085 people who were homeless when a point-in-time count was done in September 2021. 

Providing a fixed address

Phillip says Threshold Supports and other homeless organizations provide unhoused people with a fixed address through their warming centres and shelters, allowing them to vote.

"We can acknowledge as an organization that the shelter or warming centre is their residence," he said. "By signing off on that, an unhoused person can take that form to a voting station," he continued.

Diana Chan McNally, a community and crisis worker in Toronto, says that while offering shelters and warming centres as a primary residence is a viable solution, the process can still be complicated.

"The process is very high barrier; if you're staying in a shelter, you have to talk to the shelter manager. Then they have to talk to their executive director to get a form and help you figure out where the voting location actually happens to be," she said.

McNally added that the process can be more difficult for people staying on the street.

"If you're living outdoors, who are you supposed to get that form from?" she said.

Voter apathy

McNally says a difficult process can stop more unhoused people from voting as the provincial election may not be something they're focused on.

"The election is not the priority; the priority right now is survival," she said.

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo interviewed people at the Victoria Street encampment near the Kitchener train station and asked them if they were voting in the upcoming provincial election. All the people CBC News spoke to said they would not be voting. One person who agreed to be interviewed said he had no interest in voting.

"I don't vote, I've never voted, and I have no intention of voting," he said.

Waterloo Region Community Legal Services is also trying to help people cast their ballots.

"Your housing status does not affect your ability to vote. Everyone has the right to vote, including those who are unhoused," the organization says on its website.

Phillip says support workers are encouraged to talk about voting with unhoused people. He believes unhoused people are more likely to vote if they are encouraged to do so by a support worker they trust.

"If a support worker invites them to come and vote with them, they'll be much more inclined to go and vote," he said.

Phillip maintains that many unhoused people are willing to vote.

"I think there are a ton of individuals who are interested in voting and getting that opportunity they otherwise wouldn't have," he said.

Long-term solutions

As far as a long-term solution, Phillip says the answer is simple.

"The easiest answer is more housing. The short-term answer is more shelter solutions and options for people without a fixed address," he said.

Phillip says that too often, people assume that a person experiencing homelessness will be unhoused permanently.

"This period of homelessness is really just a point in their life, not their entire life," he said. "Those individuals should not have a right that we expect every single person in our community to have removed simply because of their financial situation at this given point."