As he flipped through the current issue of the New Yorker, nomad John Hynes ate a hot meal at Santa Fe's homeless shelter and mused about politics.

"We're going to have to move our military out of its strategical role as a combat force," he said. "We need a new definition of national defense, one that includes the environment and national security."

Hynes, like many who were eating lunch at St. Elizabeth Shelter on Friday, was registering to vote using forms given him by a volunteer. He is a Democrat, he said, although he once voted for Ronald Reagan, and favors Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. He lives in his car and travels around the country promoting what he calls, "The Brighter Future Initiative," which includes his ideas about transforming the military.

"(Obama) has a lot of energy, which I'm greatly enthused about," Hynes said.

Most people wouldn't show up at the shelter for lunch and expect a good conversation about politics. But since volunteers started registering people who regularly receive services there to vote, the lunchroom has been buzzing with political chatter. Although it's too late to register to vote in the coming city election, patrons at the shelter keep abreast of national politics, and many of them have picked their favorite candidates based on who they think will better fund social services programs, such as those that provide funding for the homeless.

Samuel Chavez, the program manager for St. Elizabeth Shelter's senior transitional housing program, along with volunteers, began registering people at the shelter to vote Monday and will continue doing so Mondays and Fridays until the fall. Eleven people registered Monday, and several were filling out voter-registration forms Friday when a reporter visited the shelter. Since many people who use services at the shelter live on the street, Chavez and other volunteers have been advising them to use the shelter as their permanent address.

"The homeless get stigmatized — people think they're grungy, that they're alcoholics, that they don't want to have anything to do with society," Chavez said. "But these people sometimes have degrees, and a lot of them are very educated. They are really informed about the issues. You might not think so by looking at them, but they really are."

Chavez said some people at the shelter shy away from filling out forms because they are worried about providing personal information to the government. But he said the volunteers trying to register people have mostly been successful because so many of them are excited about the coming election.

James Fawcett filled out his voter-registration form with great delicacy Friday, drawing a map on the back showing an apartment he hopes to move into on the south side of town. He said he hasn't voted in recent elections because of "bad weather" in politics. Fawcett also said he was a Democrat, although he said he voted for Richard Nixon and likes former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. He insists he's still undecided, though, because he is from Illinois and also likes Obama.

"I might as well start voting again since the weather is nice," he said. "I'm what you call 'concerned.' "

Contact Natalie Storey at 986-3026 or nstorey@sfnewmexican.com.