Priorities such as food, shelter and medical care have taken precedence over voting, she said. But when City Council candidate James Manaku Sr. brought a Wikiwiki voter registration form to the beach recently, she decided voting again was a good idea. "It's important to me to vote," Savella said.

Advocates want it known that homeless people have the right to vote, and they hope to register hundreds of them for this year's elections, to make sure their voices are heard on social issues and to encourage them to participate actively in society.

Hawai'i nonprofit groups are conducting their first homeless voter registration drive ever in conjunction with the National Coalition for the Homeless campaign to register homeless people in 100 cities during the week of Sept. 26, including Honolulu. The campaign is called "You Don't Need a Home to Vote."

"To a homeless person who does register and votes, it probably means a lot more than the average person, because in many ways they are treated like second-class citizens in this country," said Michael Stoops, director of community organizing at the coalition in Washington, D.C. "By exercising their right to vote, it makes them feel like they are part of a community, whether they are living at the airport in Honolulu or one of the downtown parks."

As an example of how homeless people could make a difference by voting, Stoops cited the 2000 Florida presidential election results, in which George W. Bush beat then-Vice President Al Gore by only 537 votes to win the presidency. In Hawai'i, then-Gov. Ben Cayetano defeated challenger Linda Lingle in 1998 by about 5,000 votes.

Neal Milner, a political science professor at the University of Hawai'i, said homelessness is not a popular issue, but Gov. Lingle has generated some interest in the subject by advocating that 17,000 affordable rental units be built statewide in the next six years. A lack of affordable rentals is cited as one factor in the rise of Hawai'i's homeless population to more than 6,000 people on any given night. Nationally the number is about 750,000.

Milner said voting could give homeless people hope that becoming politically active could help them help themselves.

"I think it is the American way. They are citizens," Milner said. "They would be the last to tell you that this is going to change their lives in any great way all of a sudden, but they are people that deserve representation, and there is nothing in the Constitution that says our representation has to be based on some kind of building with a roof."

Donald Whitehead, executive director of the national coalition, said homeless people have good reason to vote in this year's presidential election.

"I think this particular election is on their minds, because unfortunately their situations have gotten worse in the last couple of years," Whitehead said. "We see people very energized. They want to see a change, because they don't think the people representing them right now have their issues in mind."

Hawai'i's homeless voter registration effort is being coordinated by Partners in Care, a group of homeless service providers. Rebecca Anderson, who was leading the drive, recently moved to the Mainland, leaving a search for a new champion.

"It's not an easy task to outreach to homeless individuals to get them aware of their rights and how to do it," said Darlene Hein, chairwoman of Partners in Care. "Rebecca was spearheading that, and we really haven't found someone to take over."

Anderson was working primarily with volunteer registrar Cecile Smith. Anderson would call a shelter or homeless service provider and set up an appointment, and Smith would go down with Wikiwiki forms and help people fill them out.

She had helped about 50 homeless people register to vote.

"(Anderson) had the contacts," Smith said. "What we need now is to find more contacts, to find out how to get in touch with more of these groups. I'd like to see us reach as many as we possibly can. It's very important for them to have their say."

Smith said the Wikiwiki form is simple, but can be confusing to people who do not have a home address.

Audrey Kessing, who is homeless, tried registering to vote using the Waikiki Health Center's address, where she gets her mail. Her application was rejected because no legal residence was listed — a common mistake, according to City Clerk Denise DeCosta.

"On the voter registration form, there is a space for where you live and a space for where your mail goes to," DeCosta said. "Where you live, if you are homeless, could be the bench at the ewa end of Ala Moana park. That's acceptable. Line 7 allows you to put in that description of where you live. But you must have a mailing address we can send your (precinct) cards to.

"It's an easy mistake to make, especially for homeless people. It is really good if someone is out working with them to help them fill it out, and they just sign it."

There also are barriers to overcome when it comes time to vote. For example, voters need photo identification, which many homeless people may lack.

"It is a problem in many cases," Whitehead said. "Many people have had their belongings either stolen or sometimes taken by the police, so that does present a barrier for people trying to get the opportunity to vote. Replacing those types of items for someone who is homeless is a much larger issue than for people in the general public."

The homeless voter registration drive is intended to help the homeless overcome some of those problems.

"Showing up to vote on election day is good for them, good for our country and good for undoing some of the negative stereotypes that homeless people have," said Stoops of the National Coalition for the Homeless. "Registering and voting is a step toward getting more involved and getting back into mainstream society."