Mirkarimi Introduces Landmark Expansion of SRO Voting Rights

by Randy Shaw, Beyond Chron (reposted)

Tue, May 1, 2007 7:57AM

When political observers think of problems with voting rights, hanging chads in Florida, Ohio’s harsh restrictions on voter registration, and touch screen voting problems come to mind. But San Francisco has its own obstacle to voting: landlords’ refusal to allow Get out the Vote activities in the city’s single room occupancy hotels (SRO’s). Since door-to-door voter outreach has proven the single biggest factor in increasing turnout among low-income, infrequent voters, the denial of such outreach in SRO’s contributes to low voter-turnout among hotel residents. Mirkarimi will introduce legislation today preventing SRO landlords from stifling tenant voting, a big step in both increasing voting among the poor and ending the vestige of SRO tenants as second-class citizens.

When District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly’s November 2006 re-election victory was boosted by votes of SRO tenants, it showed how a traditionally non-voting constituency would go to the polls if contacted through door-to-door voter outreach. Little discussed in the wake of the successful SRO voter outreach effort was the number of SRO’s, including those run by nonprofit groups with public funds, that denied registered voters access to such outreach efforts.

That’s right. Despite all of the progress that has been made in improving SRO living conditions, ensuring SRO tenants the right to overnight visitors, and granting tenants the right to have individual mailboxes---all of which are common for apartment residents---many SRO landlords continue to interfere with their tenants ability to exercise their fundamental right to vote.

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