The 2012 general election will be the first since the national rate of mortgage delinquencies rose above 10 percent. While it seems the fever broke in early 2010, when nearly 15 percent of home loans were past due, the country's foreclosure rate is still twice as high as it was pre-recession.

And foreclosures mean mental stress and physical moving — two factors that tend to lower voter turnout.

See also: The Dispossessed: Bayview Homeowners Fight Foreclosures

Here's What the State's Historic Foreclosure Protection Bill Means to Homeowners