Vernon Daley

Mike Henry's proposal to give homeless people the opportunity to vote, on the face of it, is a noble idea.

But we shouldn't feel bound to pursue all the noble ideas that pop into our heads, and we especially shouldn't feel compelled to pursue this one. Frankly, it's not worth the time and effort that have already been given to dealing with it.

Parliament, it has been reported, is seeking the advice of the Solicitor-General to determine whether the rights of homeless people are violated by the Electoral Office's registration requirement that a voter should have a verifiable residential address.

I sincerely hope the Solicitor-General's legal research leads him to conclude that there is no such violation. The last thing the country needs is another pool of hapless people which can be used by politicians at election time in return for a 'plate of curry goat.'

Trading their votes

Already, there are too many people who trade their votes for some flimsy partisan political benefits. The country needs less of that, not more.

For years, there have been complaints in some parts of the U.S. that registering homeless people, using shelters and post office boxes, have facilitated fraud in the electoral system by giving undue influence to these transient members of communities.

It's not being suggested that Mr. Henry has an ulterior motive in calling for the franchise for the homeless. But we can't ignore the possibility that this grand idea could easily be transformed into some foul purpose.

Mr. Henry, the Opposition MP for Central Clarendon, was quoted last week as saying that, "Real democracy rests with the fact that if you have nothing, you must retain the right to vote. If you live under a bus shelter, you must have the right to vote. If you live in a canal, you must have the right to vote."

It all sounds good. But going down this line is not a productive use of national energies. What Mr. Henry and his colleague parliamentarians should be occupied in doing is devising ways to ensure that the economic and social conditions in the country are such that we don't have this growing army of homeless people on the streets.

If there are no homeless people, then we don't have to worry about giving them the right to vote.

Meeting their needs

Many of those who find themselves among the ranks of the homeless have fallen out of the 'system' for want of opportunities.

Others fled poor conditions here for overseas shores only to be deported having broken the law in their host countries. Still others are mentally ill and have no one to care for them.

I haven't heard them clamouring to have the right to vote. What I hear them crying about is the advantage that is taken of them while they are on the streets and the lack of proper shelters to which they can go.

Last week, a Gleaner reporter asked a number of the street dwellers what they thought about the proposal to give them the right to vote. As expected, they thought it an inspired idea. Who would turn down such a right?

However, if the reporter had asked them what were their top 20 concerns as homeless people, I'm willing to wager that the right to vote would not have made the list.

It's good to come up with noble and bright ideas but they need to be thought through and focused on real issues. True representation should meet people where they have their greatest needs.

Vernon Daley is Jamaica editor for the CMC.