6 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 020 NEWS Advocates warn most homeless people in DC will be left out of the 2020 primary election there to answer questions about who’s eligible to vote, where they can vote, and sometimes even help people fill out their registration. Now, with social distancing guidelines in effect, ith Washington, D.C.’s primary elections that’s not an option. fast approaching, the voice of the District’s “We’re basically relying on paper, paper flyers, and phone homeless population is at an even higher risk information, and some emails. It is really difficult,” Gentle said. than usual of being left out at the voting booth, “You already don’t really know what’s sticking with people, thanks to limitations brought on by closures but now you really just throw it out there in the wind.” related to the coronavirus. The nonprofit Bread for the City is encountering similar In the face of the pandemic, the D.C. problems, according to its CEO, George Jones. In past years, government is pushing residents to vote by mail across the the organization might have had a table set up in the lobbies board. However, people without a permanent address may not of the buildings they operate with voting information. Such know they are eligible to register and participate remotely. interpersonal interactions are “not a thing” this year, Jones said. Organizations that serve homeless communities are taking Instead, Bread for the City is giving out packets of steps to revamp their own outreach to raise awareness with information along with the bags of groceries they hand out. The potential voters. organization’s food pantries fed more than 25,000 people last But some advocates worry the absence of face-to-face year, according to its annual report. Volunteers were brought meetings between them and the people they serve, as well as on to provide delivery of food during the pandemic. Jones said District of Columbia the extra steps involved in registering to vote by mail without the organization is hoping to address common questions people a stable address, are going to harm voter turnout. have, including who is eligible to vote and where to go to vote. Betty Gentle, an advocacy and engagement specialist at the To get the word out to the homeless community, the District nonprofit So Others Might Eat, said normally she would go Board of Elections has similarly been distributing flyers Washington, DC 20003-4733 in person to SOME’s dining hall and speak directly to people through the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and BY JAKE MAHER jake@streetsensemedia.org W Services at sites where hot meals and groceries are provided. For people who may struggle to vote by mail, including people experiencing homelessness, a small number of in-person voting sites will still be available. Instead of the usual 143 polling precincts, the District’s early-voting locations will be repurposed into 20 voting centers, with two or three in each ward. The centers will be open continuously from May 22 to June 2, with the exception of Memorial Day, including the weekend and Monday before the election when early voting is normally closed. The deadline to register to vote remotely was May 12. Voters who are already registered have until May 26 to request a mail-in ballot. In-person registration will be an option at the 20 voting centers through the last day of the election. “Anybody who lives anywhere in the city can vote in any voting center [and] can same-day register,” said Rachel Coll, a spokesperson for the Board of Elections When asked why ballots could not be given directly to voters at the meal sites where flyers about ballots are being distributed, Coll said it would take “years” to create a system Vote Centers for the Primary Election will of automatic ballot mailing and distribution of the kind that be the openBoard fromofMay 22 through Election Day, would allow Elections to distribute ballots directly through partners June 2. like TheySOME. will be closed on May 25, Board of Elections Vote Centers Memorial Day. Ward 1 Columbia Heights Community Center 1480 Girard Street, NW Columbia Heights | <0.3 miles Ward 2 Prince Hall Center for the Performing Arts (Masonic Temple) Hardy Middle School 1000 U Street, NW 1819 35th Street, NW U Street/African American Civil War Foggy Bottom/GWU | <2.5 miles Memorial/Cardozo | <0.0 miles Ward 4 Ida B. Wells Middle School 405 Sheridan Street, NW Takoma | <0.5 miles Emery Heights Community Center 5801 Georgia Avenue, NW Georgia Avenue-Petworth | <1.5 miles Ward 3 One Judiciary Square – Old City Council Chambers Murch Elementary School 441 4th Street, NW 4810 36th Street, NW Judiciary Square | <0.1 miles Tenleytown-AU | <0.4 miles Oyster Adams Bilingual School 2801 Calvert Street, NW Woodley Park-Zoo/ Adams Morgan | <0.1 miles » For Election Day, which is June 2 for the Primary Election and June 16 for the Special Election in Ward 2, Vote Centers will be open from 7am to 8pm. Ward 5 Turkey Thicket Recreation Center 1100 Michigan Avenue, NE Brookland/CUA | <0.4 miles Vote Centers WARD 4 McKinley Technology High School 151 T Street, NE Rhode Island Avenue | <1.0 miles Closest Metro Stop WARD 3 Raymond Recreation Center 3725 10th Street, NW Georgia Avenue-Petworth | <0.2 miles WARD WARD 1 5 WARD Ward 6 Ward 7 Ward 8 Sherwood Recreation Center 640 10th Street, NE Union Station | <1.1 miles Benning Stoddert Community Center 100 Stoddert Place, SE Benning Road | <0.3 miles Barry Farm Recreation Center 1230 Sumner Road, SE Anacostia | <0.2 miles Kennedy Recreation Center 1401 7th Street, NW Mt. Vernon Square | <0.2 miles Hillcrest Recreation Center 3100 Denver Street, SE Naylor Road | <0.7 miles Anacostia High School 1601 16th Street, SE Anacostia | <1.2 miles King Greenleaf Recreation Center 201 N Street, SW Waterfront | <0.4 miles » For the Ward 2 Special Election, Vote Centers will be open June 12 through Election Day, June 16. » For all days other than Election Day, Vote Centers will be open from 8:30am to 7pm. Deanwood Recreation Center 1350 49th Street, NE Deanwood Metro | <0.1 miles 2 WARD 6 Malcolm X Opportunity Center 1351 Alabama Avenue, SE Congress Heights | <0.1 miles WARD 7 WARD 1015 Half Street, SE, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20003-4733 • www.dcboe.org • Telephone 202.727.2525 • Fax 202.347.2648 8 COURTESY OF THE D.C. BOARD OF ELECTIONS