Point of View – by Diane Yentel, NLIHC President and CEO: Time to Vote — and Get Out the Vote!

Diane Yentel, NLIHC President & CEO
Diane Yentel,
NLIHC President & CEO

Election Day is almost here. We at NLIHC thank all of you who have participated in Our Homes, Our Votes to register low income residents and other citizens and to raise the profile of affordable housing this election season. Now there are two last, extremely important, tasks to undertake: Vote, and get out the vote!

Before you go into the voting booth tomorrow, be sure to know where candidates stand on issues like economic justice and affordable housing. Organizations like Vote411 have non-partisan tools to make that research simple. At NLIHC, we’ve compiled a listing of important state and local affordable housing ballot measures, because it is not just the candidates on this year’s ballots that will have an impact on affordable housing.

In addition to voting yourself, do whatever you can to encourage and help others to exercise their right and civic duty to vote.  Tools from Vote411 and VoteWithMe make it easy to find your polling place and remind your friends and family to vote. Ridesharing services like Lyft and Uber are offering free and discounted rides to the polls.

Affordable homes are built with ballots every bit as much as with bricks and drywall. Low income renters historically vote at much lower rates than higher income individuals and homeowners – this is why our federal housing policy skews towards higher income homeowners. Only when low income renters and their allies are seen as a powerful voting bloc will policymakers prioritize their needs. Tomorrow is the day to make our voices heard. See you at the polls!

Onward,

Diane Signature