Score one for John Kerry.

“George Bush is nothing but his father’s pantywaist,” said Bruce Martin, a 52-year-old who’s been homeless on and off for several years.

“John Kerry is a soldier. I respect his judgment, he’s been there,” Martin said. “He’s not somebody who’s going to talk big and then make somebody else do his fighting for him.”

But Martin, who said he once served as a Marine, admitted he hadn’t bothered voting in too many elections.

“I don’t have an address, man,” he said, sitting cross-legged on the ground across from the Community Drop-In Center, 214 W. 10th St. He was smoking a self-rolled cigarette.

“I sleep on the rooftops,” Martin said. “That makes it kind of hard to register.”

Not anymore. With some help, Martin, along with about a dozen other homeless or transient men and women, registered to vote Monday.

“They can use the Drop-in Center’s address if they want to. It’s OK,” said Anne Bracker, a member of the center’s board of directors and leader of an impromptu campaign to encourage Lawrence’s homeless to vote.

Though she’s an active Democrat, Bracker said the campaign was not aimed at promoting one party or candidate over another.

“I just want them to be able to vote if they want to vote,” she said. “If this turns out to be a positive thing, maybe we can get some candidates to come here and talk to people. Maybe get some political interaction going.”

Some at the Drop-In Center resisted Bracker’s overtures, noting they had felony convictions on their records.

“They think they can’t vote if they’ve been convicted of a felony, but they can,” said Lori Robinson, a volunteer who spent the morning helping Bracker.

“In Kansas, if you’ve served your time and paid your fines, you can register to vote,” said Robinson, who’s also active with the Lawrence NAACP chapter. “A lot of people don’t know that.”

Brad Bryant, election director at the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, confirmed Robinson’s and Bracker’s interpretation of the state’s election laws.

“There is a provision for people who are homeless — though the word homeless isn’t used — that says the address has to be specific enough to determine the precinct they’re in,” Bryant said.

The Community Drop-In Center’s address meets that requirement, he said.

“And it’s true that once a person is convicted of a felony, that person loses their right to vote,” Bryant said. “But once that person pays his or her debt to society and is no longer on parole or probation they can re-register.

“In some states that re-registration is automatic,” he said. “But in Kansas it’s not.”

Task force mulls ID’s for homeless (06-16-04) Take a Stand: Center is heart-warming, heart-wrenching place (12-13-03) Douglas County Voting Information

WyLma Mortell, 47, added her name to the registration rolls Monday, too.

“I’m pretty new at this,” she said, scanning the one-page form while seated in her electric wheelchair.

“I’ve had muscular dystrophy since I was 17 years old,” said Mortell, who lives in a small house in East Lawrence.

She asked Bracker, “Do I put down that I want to be a Democrat or am I a Republican?”

Bracker replied, “That’s your choice. You decide.”

“I want to vote for people who’ll help others,” Mortell said. “I guess that makes me a Democrat.”