The nation has been focused for weeks on the financial upheaval on Wall Street and the administration's reaction to the crisis. President Bush spoke to the public almost on a daily basis about the urgency of the situation and the need to adopt the administration's proposal. On Sept. 29, the House of Representatives failed to approve the bill cobbled together with the Secretary of the Treasury. Two thirds of the Democrats voted for the bill. The Republicans could not produce the number of votes their leaders had counted on, falling 12 votes short. The stock market plummeted 777 points, its greatest one day loss in history. Dire predictions were voiced. Partisan charges of blame ensued.

The following day, the stock market rebounded sharply with a rise of 485 points. Changes were added to the bill, including raising the federal guarantee of money in banks (F.D.I.C.) from $100,000 to $250,000. Attention was being paid to protecting citizens on Main Street. Other important additions of strict oversight and increased regulation had been made before Sept. 29. On Oct. 1, the Senate passed the revised bill by a 74 to 25 vote. When the House of Representatives reconsidered the revised bill on Oct. 3, sixty members had moved in favor. The final vote was 263 to 171.

Underlying the drama played out every day in Congress and on Wall Street is the stark fact that more than a million people have lost their homes through foreclosure during the past two years. Beyond the economic analyses of sub-prime mortgages and the collapse that followed, lies the story of how the foreclosures affected the lives of the people and national politics in an election year as well.

Owning one's home has always been a central concept of the American dream. Over the past years, home ownership spiraled with the advent of the sub-prime mortgages. When the economy turned down and jobs were lost, payments could not be met. Families moved to small apartments. Single owners moved back with their parents. Some families who couldn't find affordable housing became part of the nation's homeless.

Many people who lost their homes through foreclosures were not aware that they were also in danger of losing their right to vote. If they did not inform their election board of their change of address, they could be challenged on Nov. 4 by partisan poll watchers and forced to take a provisional ballot. Federal election officials are worried that voters are not properly informed of the need to update their address. Rosemary Rodriguez, the chairwoman of the federal Election Assistance Commission that oversees elections, said, "Our biggest concern is that many of these voters will stay home or that poll workers will give misinformation."

Some of the nation's highest foreclosure rates are in the vital swing states of Michigan, Florida, Ohio and Colorado. The homeowners are predictably poor, black and Democratic in their political registration. In Ohio, there is a battle, with groups urging a period of time when state residents would be permitted to register and cast a ballot on the same day. In opposition, the Republican Party filed a lawsuit in state court to block this, arguing that state law forbids this happening.

Senator Barack Obama's campaign filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking to prohibit the Michigan Republican Party from using foreclosure lists to single out and challenge voters on Nov. 4. The state Republican Party denied having such plans. Senator Joseph Biden, joined by a dozen other Democratic senators, sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey urging him to ensure that voters caught in foreclosure should not be intimidated at their polling places.

Individuals, caught in the trauma of foreclosure, may place voter registration far down on their list of priorities. Todd Haupt, 33, who lost his home in Josephville, Missouri, and moved in with his parents, told a reporter that he had become more interested in politics this past year. But he added, "I've moved three times in the past two years. Keeping my voter registration information was not top in my mind because I figured it was all set already."

The procedures in each state vary and the results are complex.The reality is that the number of people who have moved, through foreclosure or other reasons, usually far exceeds the number who notify their election boards. In Ohio, 375,000 people filed change-of-address forms with the Postal Service, but when state officials sent out cards asking for updated voter registration information, only 24,000 responded. In Missouri, where 250,000 notified the Postal Service, only 25,000 told the election board.

In each state, the secretary of state is the critical figure in election disputes. In Missouri, Robin Carnahan, is the secretary of State and a Democrat. She wants to increase the number of poll watchers to deal with the possible challenges to voters that may occur. In 2004, in Boone County, Missouri, a large number of voters in a heavily black precinct were challenged by a Republican Party official. Delay and long lines built up as challenged voters were stopped from voting. In the past, state parties have used mailings to decide which voters to challenge. They send out mailings to people they assume are in the opposite party. When the mailings are returned as undeliverable, they challenge them as not living at the registered address. Now, the public lists of foreclosures may make the mailing technique unnecessary.

Another aspect of the foreclosure of over one million homes is the exact definition of" "homeless" according to federal housing laws and who is eligible for emergency housing aid. For over twenty years, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, has counted as homeless only people living in shelters and on the street. About 700,000 people live in shelters or on the streets on any given day, housing officials report. Federal dollars pay for only 170,000 beds. Since Katrina and the foreclosure escalation, both the Senate and the House are considering an expansion of "homeless" to include people doubled up with relatives or friends, and those living day to day in motels.

The Department of Education is also involved since they are responsible for assisting homeless students who are living with other families or temporarily in motels. During the 2006-2007 school year, the Education Department listed 688,174 children as homeless, Of that number, 32 percent lived in shelters or outdoors. The rest were ineligible to receive emergency aid or priority on waiting lists for public or subsidized housing.

Barbara Duffield, policy director at the National Association of Homeless Children, said, "This is really about our nation acknowledging the extent of the housing crisis and the devastation it wreaks on children, youth and family. The housing crisis is bigger than the emergency system put in place to address it 20 years ago."

Some Americans, ensconced in their own homes, have blamed the families who have lost their homes for the bad decisions they made in signing onto sub-prime mortgages. Were they bad decisions? At the time, families saw their chance to own a home, their piece of the American dream. They put their trust in the nation's financial systems and the result was disastrous for them. We need to be less judgmental and think about the fallout from the foreclosures in human terms and the farreaching effects it has had on over one million families.

Joyce S. Anderson's articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer and other national publications. She is the author of "Courage in High Heels," "Flaw in the Tapestry," "If Winter Comes" and "The Mermaids Singing." She can be reached at JSAWrite@aol.com.