Michael Reed, Washington DC

 

“I can’t wait to vote,” says newly registered voter Michael Reed, 38, of Washington, DC.  “I’ve been down here for four years.  I’m homeless and I’m struggling, but I’m trying to work it out for the best, hoping for a change.”

 

Michael Reed joined unprecedented numbers of new voter registrants across the country this year when he registered to vote at the Father McKenna Center in Washington, DC.  The Center participated in a drive to register homeless residents to vote.  Despite the difficulties of having no place to live, people experiencing homelessness can and do register and vote in elections, through soup kitchens, shelters, and other support centers.

 

His religious beliefs previously dissuaded Reed from voting.  “I was brought up that God created everybody and everything and I should leave it all in God’s hands.  Then, he says, he realized that “God works through people.  I think you know, just prayer, isn’t going to change things.”

 

Asked what motivated him to register for the first time, Reed says, “All the publicity, and hearing some of the candidates talk about how they’re going to change things, I thought maybe I should get out here and vote, make a difference.”  Reed hopes that the next president will effectively address the economic hardships he and countless other Americans face.

 

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