Focus Ireland launched its Voter Registration Drive Campaign on March 26th in the GPO in Dublin with support from An Post and their service,  AddressPoint which provides a postal address and eircode for people who are homeless. The campaign aims to increase voter registration among people who are homeless.  The initiative will encourage political engagement by people who are homeless or at risk.  

The campaign’s three key target groups are: people who are previously /or are currently homeless, others who are at risk of losing their home; friends and family of these target groups.  Focus Ireland is also linking in with other charities in the sector to try to reach other socially excluded group many of whom who have not traditionally engaged in the electoral process and may have never registered to vote. 

Focus Ireland believes in the power of every voice. Our Voter Registration Drive Campaign aims to increase voter registration and political engagement among people who are homeless and others who feel that their voice doesn’t matter.  We believe this campaign will help to empower people while also building political support for our primary goal of ending homelessness.

The staff involved in the campaign have been trained to provide support in a non-party political way. This campaign is about encouraging and supporting people who face homelessness to use their vote to make the changes they want to happen.

In the last local elections in 2019, there was a 50.7% voter turnout.  However, that figure underestimates voter apathy, as it is based on the number of people on the electoral register, and it excludes those that have never registered. Voter participation is traditionally lower among marginalised communities, who are usually most dependent on the services of the state, and who therefore are most at risk from poor policy decisions. We believe that by using their vote, people can help ensure that ending homelessness is a political priority for all elected representatives.

For more information, or if your organisation would like to host a Voter Registration Drive, email louise.bayliss@focusireland.ie.