Most people realize you need to provide proof of residency to vote.

But what if you don't live in the same place all the time?

Or what if you're homeless or broke or don't have anyone in your life who cares enough to offer a roof over your head?

None of that by itself should take away your right to vote.

State Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) knows about the segment of the voting population that often falls between the cracks or exists under the radar. She knows because she's seen it firsthand in some neighborhoods in Milwaukee where adults without stable households depend on food pantries and homeless shelters.

Taylor and her mother, Lena J. Taylor, have a history of helping such people.

They've been doing it for years at a home at 1018 N. 35th St. where Taylor's mother lives with a group she considers her spiritual family. The senator owns the home; her mother leads the spiritual family.

The house became the focus of critics looking for voter fraud under every rock or pebble.

A group called Media Trackers released a report accusing the Taylors of aiding and abetting voter fraud after finding 36 people listed the home as their residence.

Media Trackers is a nonprofit group that does political research targeting liberals, which includes Taylor - one of the Wisconsin 14 senators who fled the state during the battle over collective bargaining for public unions.

Taylor strongly insisted that her mother was not participating in voter fraud. She also felt her mother's role had been miscast and misunderstood. For years, Taylor's mother has been a community leader and religious leader for a group of underprivileged residents.

"She takes people in, she has a spiritual family," Taylor said. "She doesn't ask for a cent."

Taylor said her mother has been taking in needy individuals for nearly 15 years, ever since her mother was "delivered" from a drug and alcohol addiction. (Her mother prefers to call herself "delivered" from her addictions, not recovered.)

Taylor understands her political enemies targeted her with the Media Trackers report, but she was more offended by the way her mother's actions were depicted.

"Her ministry isn't political," she said. "She should be commended for what she's been doing."

According to Susan Edman, executive director of the city of Milwaukee Election Commission, providing the correct residence information is important for the voting process to work.

"It's all based on honesty and integrity," she said.

The rules dictating how long a voter must live at a certain address before being eligible to vote might be confusing to some, but Edman said people who lived transitory lives needed to check to make sure they were voting in the right ward where their residence was listed.

At least one resident at the Taylor home may have voted illegally due to a felony conviction, according to the report. But the senator believes no case will be made against her mother.

"I know they want me, I get that. But I think it's shameful they target my mother like that," she said.

When it comes to allegations of voter fraud, most politicians - particularly liberals - better get used to extra scrutiny.

After all, this is Wisconsin, where every vote will count.

Contact Eugene Kane at (414) 223-5521 or ekane@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @eugene_kane