Today, millions of people will vote on our next president, and thousands of San Francisco voters will decide on 42 state and local propositions. But while the results could have serious consequences for residents of the Tenderloin, the neighborhood is typically known for low voter turnout.

Will this election, seen by many as potentially the most important one ever, engage a higher number of Tenderloin residents?

In June's primary election, 49.6 percent of Tenderloin residents cast votes, lower than the citywide voting rate—56.59 percent of residents. “But that doesn’t mean people here are not interested,” says Hospitality House community building program manager Joe Wilson.

Wilson, who has been keeping track of the voting behavior in his neighborhood for years, says this election is different. “Although our neighborhood turnout in June 2016 was lower than the citywide average, it was significantly higher than our typical turnout—nearly 80 percent higher than June 2014.”

“Many people here feel disempowered to vote. They believe their voice won’t make a difference," he said. So Hospitality House and advocacy group TL Votes "make an effort to engage them in local politics and activism throughout the year. We are not where we want to be yet, but I have hope that our approach will have an impact in the long term.”

A few days before Election Day, we stopped by street ministry Faithful Fools and Curry Senior Center to speak with a few long-time Tenderloin residents—all of whom had plenty to say about voting and local propositions.

"Proposition Q will make me less safe."

Kat Callaway has been homeless for the past five years, but that didn't stop her from becoming one of the first members of TL Votes, which is organized by Faithful Fools and the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation. Through the organization, Callaway helps Tenderloin locals register to vote, and serves as an election poll worker.

Callaway told us she's concerned about Proposition Q. “I am living in a tent. I am not homeless by choice. Proposition Q will make me less safe,” she said. “It will increase my chances of being sexually assaulted, of being raped.”

With a group of fellow homeless women, Callaway shared her concerns in a video developed by the NO on Q & R campaign:

“The Tenderloin is ignored by the city."

George Shieman, a senior citizen who lives in the Tenderloin, is also advocating for a "no" vote on Propositions Q and R. If passed, the latter proposition would create an SFPD neighborhood crime unit focused on robberies, break-ins, bike thefts, vandalism, aggressive panhandling and blocking sidewalks with tents.

“The Tenderloin is ignored by the city and the police department very much," Shieman said. "Other districts that don’t need foot patrols, like North Beach, have them. But we don’t. That’s why I say ‘No on R.'”

But it's Prop Q that worries Shieman the most. "People that hate people laying on the streets should actually be for camps, so they don’t have to see the homeless," he said. "Did you know that there are tent encampments in the Tenderloin that are actually nice? Every day, police trucks go through the Tenderloin to destroy property. I have friends that are heavily affected by having their property being destroyed, and Prop Q will mean more of that.”

“I lost my belief in politics.”

Charles, a frequent visitor to the Curry Senior Center, told us he's decided not to vote, because he does not believe in politics anymore.

“None of the politicians is a proper Christian," he said. "There might be good propositions, but if the wrong people enforce them, it’s still bad news. I like the affordable housing-related proposition, but we need to have a sense of morality among people if we want to make it happen.”

A homegrown political resource

Cyrus Sepand, on the other hand, is so deeply involved in the presidential election that he devotes his time to writing about politics on his website, Who Said So.

Although he does not have his own home, and works on the computers at the public library, Sepand has devoted his scarce means to providing a side-by-side comparison of important issues in the speeches of Clinton and Trump. He told us he wants to offer a neutral alternative to the media circus surrounding this year's election.

For those who have not voted yet, polls are open until 8pm. Any voter who is in line when the polls close at 8pm is allowed to vote. To find your designated polling place, visit sfelections.org/pollsite or calling 415-554-4375.

San Francisco residents may also cast their votes at the City Hall Voting Center, open until 8pm on the ground floor of City Hall.

Keep an eye out for TL Votes this afternoon: the group will be parading through the neighborhood in costume around 12:30pm today, to encourage residents to vote.