Our Current Electoral System Fails Domestic Violence Survivors

By: Maddie Brown

Edited by: John Perales Jr.

Survivors of domestic violence should not be forced to choose between safe housing and participating in elections.

The most dangerous moment for a survivor of domestic violence is the moment they choose to leave the abusive situation [1]. Finding shelter becomes a primary concern, especially amidst a pandemic, when domestic violence is on the rise and a safe place to live can mean the difference between health and infection [2]. Even before the pandemic, 57 percent of homeless women reported that the immediate cause of their displacement was domestic violence [3]. Thus, when secure housing is found, it is all the more valuable.

Unknown to many, however, is that political participation jeopardizes safe housing by publicizing survivors’ addresses, making their locations known to their abusers. In order to avoid exposure, many survivors of domestic violence, like Midori Davidson, struggle with the choice to vote. Davidson recalls that she was “afraid to vote” because she was paranoid about what would happen if her abuser found her online [4]. She explains that it was “the first time I had the freedom to do something that I’m supposed to do, but I didn’t want that freedom to be snatched.” Although Davidson eventually cast her ballot, thousands of survivors like her are still shut out of the political process.  

This is unacceptable. States should protect the privacy of their citizens, including survivors. As a nation, we must anonymize voters’ registration information to ensure survivors are not forced to choose between their physical safety and political self-determination.

Nearly every state makes voter registration information public. This information is part of the public record, and in the name of transparency, fully accessible to the public. Full names, birth dates, and addresses are usually available for purchase by political campaigns and are aggregated by third party databases for further use [5]. But at the same time, these records are used as political tools, public voter records enable abusers to track down and harm survivors.

By focusing on transparency rather than confidentiality, state publication of voter information effectively disenfranchises survivors who’ve managed the feat of securing safe housing. In addition, survivors of domestic violence are disproportionately members of marginalized groups, whose voices are already minimized in the political arena. Indigenous women experience the highest rates of domestic violence, closely followed by Black women [6] [7]. Sixty-one percent of bisexual women will face domestic violence in their lifetimes, as well as 44 percent of lesbian women [8]. By disproportionately harming marginalized communities, public voter records act as yet another form of voter suppression [9].

This is a cruel irony, as the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence states “the number one thing [we] can do to address domestic and sexual violence is commit to voting” for policies that will affect change in the lives of survivors, from affordable housing to funding for community crisis centers [10]. Without protection, however, survivors lose this avenue to determine their future. Survivors have already experienced a loss of control, and that abuse continues through their disenfranchisement.

In an attempt at a solution, 40 states have instituted Address Confidentiality Programs (ACPs) that provide survivors with an alternate address for official state matters. These programs, however, vary state by state, and some do not provide confidentiality for voting purposes. In New Mexico, ACP registration requires a $25 fee, which could be prohibitive for many economically disadvantaged survivors [11]. In Wisconsin, a survivor applying for their ACP would have to file four discrete forms, which must be completed in person [12].

If these procedural barriers weren’t enough, for all ACPs, the burden is on survivors to prove that they have been affected by domestic violence. Survivors must present a sworn statement that they are a survivor of abuse, forcing them to voice their trauma for protection [13]. Furthermore, in states like Tennessee and Kentucky, the survivor must file a protection order against their abuser, or even win a conviction in a court of law [14]. This makes ACPs prohibitive for many survivors who choose to not interact with the judicial system, either due to a lack of resources, knowledge that abusers are rarely convicted, or an inherent lack of trust in a system that has no interest in protecting their needs.

Furthermore, these programs are so underpublicized that they are rendered ineffective. Amy Miller, director of Violence Free Colorado, said of her state’s program, “I’ve never been told that it was an option when I’ve registered to vote in this state” [15]. The data reflects this: as of 2018 in Colorado, only 4,500 people were registered with the state’s ACP program, while 16,700 cases of domestic violence were reported to Colorado police [16] [17]. In North Carolina, only 900 people were enrolled, even though, in 2014, almost 2,000 survivors were aided by state services in a single day [18] [19]. These disparities are even larger when considering the amount of violence that goes unreported and unseen.

Survivors deserve both safe housing and a voice in democratic elections. A system that is designed to jeopardize one in order to maintain the other is unjustifiable. Voter registration lists must be made private, or at the very least, addresses should not be part of the publicly available data set. The burden should not be on survivors to prove their need for privacy and security; instead, it should be on the campaigns to provide a valid reason as to why they need to access this personal information. 

The government must protect citizens from harm at home: a supposed private, secure space, and a foundation of American life. Especially now, amid the pandemic, safe housing provides more than privacy — it is a barrier against the virus-infected outside world and can mean the difference between life and death. 

As the system exists now, survivors are forced to voice their trauma to gain protection, a substantial burden, which virtually precludes this marginalized group from political participation. We must honor survivors’ rights to self-determination and safety in their homes, and automatically anonymize voter registration lists on a national level. 

notes:

1. “NCADV | National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.” https://ncadv.org/why-do-victims-stay. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

2. Megan L. Evans, M.D., M.P.H., A Pandemic within a Pandemic — Intimate Partner Violence during Covid-19. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2024046. Accessed 1 June 2021.

3. Safe Housing Partnerships. https://safehousingpartnerships.org/sites/default/files/2017-05/SHP-Homelessness%20and%20DV%20Inforgraphic_1.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021. 

4. Devna Bose. “‘Don’t Let Them Take Your Voice Away’: Domestic Violence Survivors Face Voting Challenges.” The Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2020, https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article246265510.html.

5. Scottie Andrew. “For Abuse Victims, Registering to Vote Brings a Dangerous Tradeoff.” CNN, 27 Oct. 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/27/us/domestic-violence-voting-election-privacy-trnd/index.html.

6. 2018 NCVRW Resource Guide: Intimate Partner Violence Fact Sheet. https://ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh226/files/ncvrw2018/info_flyers/fact_sheets/2018NCVRW_IPV_508_QC.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

7. 2018 NCVRW Resource Guide. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

8. 2018 NCVRW Resource Guide. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

9. Matt DeRienzo. “Analysis: Voter Suppression Never Went Away. The Tactics Just Changed. – Center for Public Integrity.” Center for Public Integrity, 28 Oct. 2020, https://publicintegrity.org/politics/elections/ballotboxbarriers/analysis-voter-suppression-never-went-away-tactics-changed/.

10. Danielle Root. “Obstacles to Voting for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence - Center for American Progress.” Center for American Progress, 1 Nov. 2018, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/11/01/460377/obstacles-voting-survivors-intimate-partner-violence/.

11. Address Confidentiality Laws by State. Apr. 2020, https://nnedv.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Library_Safety_Net_ACP_Chart_April_2020.pdf.

12. Address Confidentiality Laws by State. Apr. 2020.

13. Address Confidentiality Laws by State. Apr. 2020.

14. Address Confidentiality Laws by State. Apr. 2020.

15. Danielle Root. “Obstacles to Voting for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence - Center for American Progress.” Center for American Progress, 1 Nov. 2018, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/11/01/460377/obstacles-voting-survivors-intimate-partner-violence/.

16. Danielle Root. “Obstacles to Voting for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence” 

17. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence in Colorado. https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/colorado_2019.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

18. Devna Bose. “‘Don’t Let Them Take Your Voice Away’: Domestic Violence Survivors Face Voting Challenges.” The Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2020, https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article246265510.html.

19. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence in North Carolina. 2019, https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/north_carolina_2019.pdf.

Bibliography:

Evans, M.D., M.P.H., Megan L. A Pandemic within a Pandemic — Intimate Partner Violence during Covid-19. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2024046. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

2018 NCVRW Resource Guide: Intimate Partner Violence Fact Sheet. https://ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh226/files/ncvrw2018/info_flyers/fact_sheets/2018NCVRW_IPV_508_QC.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Address Confidentiality Laws by State. Apr. 2020, https://nnedv.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Library_Safety_Net_ACP_Chart_April_2020.pdf.

Andrew, Scottie. "For Abuse Victims, Registering to Vote Brings a Dangerous Trade Off." CNN, 27 Oct. 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/27/us/domestic-violence-voting-election-privacy-trnd/index.html.

Bose, Devna. "‘Don’t Let Them Take Your Voice Away’: Domestic Violence Survivors Face Voting Challenges." The Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2020, https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article246265510.html .

DeRienzo, Matt. "Analysis: Voter Suppression Never Went Away. The Tactics Just Changed. –Center for Public Integrity." Center for Public Integrity, 28 Oct. 2020, https://publicintegrity.org/politics/elections/ballotboxbarriers/analysis-voter-suppression-never-went-away-tactics-changed/.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence in Colorado. https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/colorado_2019.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

---. Domestic Violence in North Carolina. 2019, https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/north_carolina_2019.pdf.

"NCADV | National Coalition Against Domestic Violence." Logo, https://ncadv.org/why-do-victims-stay. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Root, Danielle. "Obstacles to Voting for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence - Center for American Progress." Center for American Progress, 1 Nov. 2018, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/11/01/460377/obstacles-voting-survivors-intimate-partner-violence/.

Safe Housing Partnerships. https://safehousingpartnerships.org/sites/default/files/2017-05/SHP-Homelessness%20and%20DV%20Inforgraphic_1.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.