Mobile Vote Center portraits from Los Angeles’ Skid Row
Photographed at LA CAN — the LA Community Action Network
The sense of dignity that comes with voting crosses every socioeconomic boundary.
On October 30th, 2020, I photographed Californians at a pop-up mobile Vote Center that specifically targeted disenfranchised U.S. citizens on LA’s Skid Row, a major hub of homeless encampment in America. In my conversations with these men and women, it was clear they possess a strong will to exercise their most basic political rights.
An inescapable dichotomy that this exceptionally divisive U.S. Presidential election lays bare is the gain of “the 1%” amid financial pain for a massive swath of Americans.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, billionaires have seen their net worth increase by half a trillion dollars, while the nation has seen a significant rise in homelessness this year. One of the starkest political contrasts that continues to trouble America is: a conservative ideology that advances class divisions (deliberately or not) versus a progressive will that lifts the least advantaged and promotes basic fairness.
Right now, Americans are facing our worst demons—the ills of unbalanced capitalism and haunting racism. Those who want chaos in America will continue to exploit these weaknesses until her partisan leaders and their entrenched supporters can find their better angels and forge a path to lasting unity.
“Let me be honest with you. Ok? Point blank, I'm an ex-convict, and I was jailed for 48 years. Never before have I been able to vote ... but the father [God] made a way for me to have a clean record, no tickets, nothing for seven years. … I need to have a say so, I need to be recognized as a voice in this polling and electing our next President, because if you want the truth about it, President Trump, you really don't care for no one but yourself and what benefits you. Trump, we don't need you. We don't need that kind of hatred. We need peace, we need unity, we need a President that can ... bring us together as a family and stop killing us. ...
It matters when you speak up. I want every person out there to know you have a say so. You have a word in this. Don't be shy, don't be scared to step out. There's not a bull's eye target on your back. It's your right, it's your right, not a privilege. Exercise your right, come to these polls, make your decision, care for your decision and stand up for the United States of America, because it matters.”
“God is a healer, he is a sustainer, and he's a provider. … I know, there's a better place than this. … I don't mind talking and letting the world know that I love the Lord and I serve him, that he saved me and I serve him. … I give [the homeless community] hope. I let them know there's something better.
I hate to say this, but Trump is here for his stuff and here for the rich. He won't come down here and walk through Downtown. He thinks he's better than [that]. But God walked down here. He walked with the sick. He's made the blind to see, the deaf to hear and the lame to walk. … We need somebody that is not gonna lie to us, somebody that's gonna stand up and tell the truth.
We could come down here and cast our vote, because we are people too. And our vote counts, just like the rich man. You know, we stand up, we are a voice in this world, the ones that are homeless, the ones that don't have good health insurance and all that. And this right here is a place that people can come lift a voice by voting. I hope each and every person here would come down and vote. And vote for, what’s his name ... Biden, not Trump.”
LA County is leading the nation with an exemplary application of the Vote Center model by ensuring its 750+ sites are easy to access and widespread, including mobile sites that enfranchise those experiencing homelessness.
In the middle of Los Angeles’ Skid Row, a 50-square block area just east of Downtown Los Angeles also known as Central City East, the Registrar-Recorder LA County Clerk’s Office has set up a one-day mobile Vote Center to facilitate voting for the large, unhoused population there. In this photo, driver Jason Lee puts up wayfinding signage directing voters to the polls.
Those in poverty, like all Americans, have basic political rights. The sense of dignity that comes with voting crosses every socioeconomic boundary.
“[Voting] means that I matter and I count. I'm definitely feeling that this vote is going to change history. Trump needs to be out. In with the new. His money, first of all, brought him into the Presidency.”
After being asked about ‘Skid Row’: “To educate you, Skid Row is now called the City of Hope. ... I'm an activist for the homeless in Downtown LA. I've been here 21 years, since I was 23, and I'm 44. I'm in a situation of being homeless again after seven years, because I left a domestic violence situation, but I survived because I'm a survivor. I've been in the streets since I was 13 years old, right? So like I said, every person counts, matters, every voice is created from God and we all matter. Every child born on the Earth should matter. And my dream is to change the White House to We the People House and paint it every color of the rainbow, because I don't see color when I see people. We are the human race. Get real, people. Unity is what we need, love, and compassion. And … I matter, and that's why I voted today. Thank you.”
“There's so much money in the USA, that there's no need for homelessness. They pass out free food, but we need some place to cook our food. So a lot of food goes to waste because if you're homeless, how are you going to cook? … We need housing. And that's our number one concern in Downtown LA.”
“I watch the news every morning, and I watch 60 Minutes and 20/20 and different segments of the news that keep me well abreast with what's going on in the nation. I feel good about it [voting]. I feel a little more responsibility in who the nation gets to choose ... they should put the right person in [office]. Homelessness ... should never disrupt your decision [to vote], because then you would never be ... anywhere. You have to keep your wits about you, wherever you're at. [Voting] projects me further into the realm of responsible man, handling my own responsibilities and taking care of the things I need to take care of. … My housing is paramount, because one of my other concerns is my family that's out of town. And if I'm not prepared for them, then I can't help them. So I have to worry about my stability first right now.”
Looking into the Mobile Vote Center where County employee Todd Durham helps to check in a voter.
The past decade has seen Vote Center models implemented in 17 states, partially or fully replacing traditional, assigned neighborhood polling spots. What’s clear is that counties in some states use the model to enfranchise more voters—to reduce wait times and to convenience those at work or those who face socio-economic obstacles—while counties in other states have slashed the number of sites in a manner that potentially creates long lines and bottlenecks.
Voting models in the U.S. are in long-term flux, sometimes with wide variation among counties in the same state. It’s symptomatic of our nation’s continuing struggle to embrace authentic democratic processes.
A tablet is prepared by a Registrar-Recorder Los Angeles County Clerk employee.
When populations lack mobility, governments can choose innovative models to improve political access. Voting empowers one of America’s most vulnerable populations, the homeless, to exercise a basic right and take a step forward in civic engagement.
“[I’m voting] for change and jobs, better jobs, better education. [Trump] is just another president. We all gotta help ourselves somehow some way. [I’m voting] to be heard and to make a decision, to be counted and all that good stuff that comes along with it, man. I'm not turning it down. I am never scared. It's only voting. People get scared because it's government, [an] ‘I don't want them in my business’ [mindset], and all this stuff about it. … But, make a difference, be different. I've always considered myself to be involved, to be responsible or however you want to put it. Interact with the people, communicate with people. Go for the goal. Reach for the stars.”
“It’s an opportunity to make a difference and include yourself in trying to do something to make things better. That’s what voting is to me. ... [The election matters] because of what’s going on with COVID19, the police issue, Black Lives Matter. All those things concern me, so that’s why I made sure to vote.”
Nearly half of California’s residents speak a language other than English at home. Vote Center materials have been designed to recognize the state’s linguistic diversity.
“When you are strapped financially, you don't think about these things. You think about getting whatever you need at the time. … But so much has happened and transpired for you to actually cast your ballot, it's hard to ignore. You shouldn't ignore that. And these people walk around like it ain't nothing. People dare us to vote, to cast our ballot. So I'm taking them up on it.
[Trump] is the worst president we have had, hands down. He knows everything. The medical people tell him, but he knows [better] … he just does his own thing. You can't do that. You’ve got to come together with people. … When he came to California, first he said California ain't [worth anything]. But he went to Newport Beach to get some money, put some money in his pocket. He goes where the money is. [He does] not care about poor people. You know that.”
“[Voting is important to] speak your peace, [give] voice [to] yourself. … Everybody’s got a different opinion. So by voting, everybody has [expressed] their own opinion about [issues]. You know, we all have different reasons why we're doing what we're doing. But I think it is a chance to … put your voice out there.
I had a house. I used to come down here. I used to kind of clown around, you know? And twenty years later, I'm down here, living here. So I recommend: talk about nobody, you know what I mean?”
“I love being an American. I was born here on the East Side. I am here 63 years because of God. If he allows me another couple of days, I'll be 64. And I have brothers on the police force. I work for a moving and storage company. I've been there 33 years. And I'm just proud to be a human being. I'm just proud to let people know God's real. And if we can put our best foot forward to change this, it's gonna change.
We got stupid people out there doing stupid things for stupid reasons. It ain't necessary. I mean, I'm looking at you. I'm African American. … And you are my brothers and sisters. And if other people would realize that, man, this world would get along good. … Instead of seeing a color line, see a friendly line. I mean that literally, everywhere, especially in politics. … We have Democrats and Republicans bumping heads. If they could just sit down with each other and [decide] ‘let's come to an understanding that makes sense.’
We’ve got drug addicts. We’ve got people out here sleeping in the street. We’ve got people trying to do right. They don't know about voting, and they're scared to. They’re scared [that] ‘If I walk in here and I put my name down here, a cop’s gonna run up and say, oh, we see you have a warrant. So they're not gonna do it. We’ve got to clean things up, not just in LA. I mean, Oakland, San Mateo, Victorville, San Jose. There's homeless everywhere. And voting can help clean this up.”