Homeless votes in the Ukraine

The main reason why homeless people did not have the possibility to exercise their voting right up until now was the absence of a so-called official residential registration, which had to be included in passports: a citizen could only be on a voting list if they had a record of the registration.

Official registration of residence – remnant of the totalitarian system

The record of residence in Soviet passports was strictly required. In the former Union urban citizens got their passports only in 1932 and residents of rural areas had to wait until 1974, since this rule was created to limit migration within the country.
Independent Ukraine has inherited the concept of the registry of residence. The record of registration is still necessary for legal employment. It is favorable for the employee to be registered at the same locality where he or she is going to work.
The amendment provides the possibility for the homeless to include themselves in electoral lists by stating the address of the place of voting. They would still have to show a passport or a certificate of the loss of their documents. So, this procedure is not going to be easy for most, but will help those, who would like to exercise their right to vote. Indeed, it can help strengthening public institutions’ connections with the homeless population who are most of the time excluded from societal communication.

Selling votes is not restricted to the homeless population

Concerns about homeless people who will be selling their votes is not a sufficient condition for disenfranchisement, the deprivation of civil rights. Who says that a citizen living in his own apartment will not sell out?
Sale of votes during elections is a wide-spread phenomenon in Ukraine because of the general mistrust in democratic institutions. The logic behind it is the following: “why shouldn't I sell my vote? 10 Euros that I can receive right now are more feasible and certain than the result of the elections. Anyhow, there is no difference between corrupt candidates! Their politics will not benefit me more tomorrow than10 Euros today.”

Manipulation with homeless votes = gerrymandering

We don’t have any precise information about the number of homeless people in Ukraine so we cannot be sure about the political influence of the above-named decision yet. When it comes to presidential elections, when the country is basically one big electoral district, votes of the homeless will only represent a small part of total ballots cast, therefore their role will not be crucial. But when it comes to the elections of the Mayor of Kiev, the mass of homeless people can be very influential, especially within one district. How can we prevent manipulations? Only by means of civil control: organizing votes and observing polling stations – the same means that we should use all the time to make our elections more transparent regardless of the menace of buying the votes of any strata. We cannot suddenly change the political culture of homeless people, just like we cannot change the political culture of the majority of Ukrainians from one day to the next.

This amendment can really help to integrate the homeless in political processes. It can allow them to realize that they have certain rights as citizens and ensure the exercise of their civil rights. Exercise of their rights would be the best indicator of their political engagement. All in all, the concerns with this decision are related to the problem of the political sphere’s corruption, not to the homeless themselves.