Eviction Crisis Disenfranchises Thousands of Voters

The Impact of Eviction on Voting Can Last Years

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In a rare moment of discipline, Donald Trump did not present his usual 2020 election fraud conspiracy to his Mar-a-Lago audience while announcing his presidential candidacy on November 16. He did, however, call for tighter voting restrictions. “To eliminate cheating I will immediately demand voter ID,” Trump told his cheering hand-picked crowd. “Same day voting, and only paper ballots.”

The GOP’s “red trickle” suggests the American people are tired of Trump’s obsession with electoral conspiracies from two years ago, but the Republican fixation on limiting the franchise is likely to continue. That policy push goes beyond Trump. In February 2021, the Heritage Foundation, the United States’ most influential conservative think tank published an enormous report on election integrity along with 12 detailed policy recommendations. Attendees at Conservative Political Action Coalition, one of the largest conservative conferences in the world, have ranked “election integrity” as their number one issue at every gathering since Trump lost in 2020. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 21 states passed regulations that restricted the voting franchise over the past two years. For 20 of those states, the restrictions took effect in time for the recent midterm elections.

These restrictions hit some groups harder than others, and one such group is expanding rapidly: people experiencing eviction. Things that under ideal circumstances seem trivial — like registering ahead of time and showing up-to-date identification — become nearly impossible when one’s living situation becomes unstable.

“[Housing instability] just puts so many little administrative barriers in people’s way,” said Cecilia Aguilera, legal counsel with the nonpartisan voting rights organization Fair Elections Center. “It’s like an obstacle course.”

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