Homeless Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Vote?

While in Charleston, the talk amongst the other groomsmen, groom and myself turned political.  Knowing that the other three were McCain supporters (I was the only Obama supporter of the four of us) and that we were deep in "McCain-country", I mostly kept quiet.  I wasn’t going to turn my friend’s wedding into a big political argument.  (It wouldn’t have swayed anyone’s opinions anyway.)  Someone did say something that I objected to, though.

M said that the homeless shouldn’t be allowed to vote.  I disagreed on that point.  It just felt wrong to me, though I didn’t have a good argument prepared as for why.  Now I do.  It’s all too easy to become homeless.  The ongoing subprime mortgage fiasco is pushing many out of their houses.  Some of these people might wind up on the streets.  Should we add insult to injury and take away their right to vote when the bank forecloses on their house?  What about people with medical conditions that leave them broke?  What about people who lose their job and can’t afford their house/apartment while they fruitlessly search for a new job?

Tying a person’s right to vote to any particular test (shy of being a felon – and I’ve even heard good arguments against this) seems like it is only a way to prevent certain groups from voting.