ON TUESDAY November 8th, most American voters will be focused on the top of the ticket, where they will face the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. But in San Francisco, a liberal city in a state which favours Mrs Clinton by a 20-point margin, a ballot measure targeting the city’s homeless population may prove even more controversial. Known as Proposition Q, the initiative would make it easier for authorities to clear the dozens of tent encampments that have sprung up on city pavements. In a city where the typical home is now worth more than $1m, the debate highlights growing tensions between haves and have-nots in one of America’s most unequal cities.

An estimated 4,400 people sleep on the streets of San Francisco every night; another 2,600 sleep in shelters and other transitional housing, making a total of 7,000 homeless, up 3% since 2015. According to the latest government statistics, roughly 2,600 of the city’s homeless are addicted to drugs and 1,400 are mentally ill.

Earlier this year, to prepare for the estimated 1m tourists visiting for the Super Bowl, authorities relocated dozens of homeless people from the city’s famous Embarcadero waterfront. Officials also cleared a tent city of 200-300 homeless that was deemed a health hazard. In March city lawmakers considered following Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland in declaring an official state of emergency, a motion typically reserved for fires, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Many local residents have expressed growing frustration with the rubbish, bodily waste and discarded needles that often come with homeless tent encampments. In October last year, a new feature was added to the city’s mobile app allowing residents to report homeless people to city officials. Since then, reports of “illegal encampments” have soared from ten to nearly 100 per day.