Social media users target homeless shelters with misleading voter fraud claims

Context

In the lead-up to the U.S. election day, social media posts claiming that a large number of voters registered using the same address have gone viral, triggering claims that they may be evidence of voter fraud. 

One post on X (formerly Twitter) includes a video of a man standing in front of a municipal building in Maricopa County, Arizona with a microphone. He claims that over 60 people have registered to vote using the court as their address. When he asks people leaving the building about it, none of them know why. The video has a caption that includes the words, "ELECTION INTEGRITY UPDATE - ARIZONA."

Similar claims have gone viral about other locations. One X post includes a voter roll screenshot showing a large number of people registered to vote using a Pennsylvania address. The post is captioned, "I'd like to extend a warm welcome to the LEGION of new Philadelphia voters, who apparently ALL reside at 2913 Kensington Avenue."

Another post about a men's shelter in Pennsylvania indicates a large number of new voters had been registered using the shelter as an address. "Possible Pennsylvania fraud alert…More than 2x people registered voters than beds, 90%+ registered Democrats, Most with zero voting history," the caption says.

But the posts misleadingly omit that certain locations, such as homeless shelters and regional courts, allow people to use their addresses if they lack a permanent address to register to vote. The Arizona address is for a regional court that offers homelessness services while the two Pennsylvania addresses are both for homeless shelters.

What we found

In the U.S., homeless people are legally entitled to vote even if they lack a stable address provided they meet the other eligibility criteria. Both Arizona and Pennsylvania require voters to have a mailing address to vote. 

The Maricopa County, Arizona address in the X post houses both the Maricopa County Recorder's Office and the Maricopa County West Court Building.

According to a Maricopa County elections factsheet, those without a permanent address, such as homeless people, may register to vote using the county courthouse in the county where they reside as their mailing address. 

Both of the Pennsylvania addresses identified as "possible" sites of voter fraud are non-profit organizations. The first address, 2913 Kensington Avenue, is for Prevention Point Philadelphia, an organization that offers services for communities impacted by drug use. One of the services they provide is emergency housing for homeless people. Their homelessness services include allowing their drop-in offices to be used for mailing address services. 

In an interview with CBS 21 News published on October 31, 2024, the director of the Bethesda Men's Mission Bill Christian confirmed that the shelter actively encourages those who use its services to vote. He added that they allow guests to use the shelter as their mailing address and help them with voter registration. 

"Anyone that's interested in voting, we give that opportunity because it is a privilege to vote in this country," Christian told the outlet. "We promote it, we endorse it, and we help them if they want to do so."

The organization assists with a range of services, including addiction counseling, veterans counseling, and housing services. It is, therefore, plausible that those accessing the shelter for other services may also use it as a mailing address. 

Logically Facts has contacted the Maricopa County court, Prevention Point, and Bethesda Men's Shelter for comment. 

The verdict

A number of posts have gone viral ahead of the U.S. elections, claiming that addresses with an unusually high number of people registered for voting purposes may be evidence of voter fraud. However, the addresses identified are for courthouses and homeless shelters, which allow those who lack a permanent residence to use their address for mailing and voting purposes. We have, therefore, rated this claim misleading.