Should College Students be allowed to vote where they attend college
 

I just ran across this mailer while doing some fact checking. So should college students be allowed to register where they attend college? Should they be forced to register in their last state of residence even if they were a minor at the time?

Is it possible to have a situation where a student would be ineligible to vote anywhere? Is this fair?

Unfortunately, there are not separate polls for national and state offices. Even if a state could make the claim that they do not consider certain people eligible to vote for state offices under Article I (sect 4) and Article II (sect 1), this could deny them their rights under Article IV (sect 2) and Amendments 14 (citizenship in state of residence) ,15 , 17, 19, 23, 24,and 26 (all voting or representations amendments).

where's the option for "don't care"? I really don't think it matters.

The towns where colleges are located really seem to push the whole "register here!" issue...especially when the Census comes around.

I registered in my college town when I went away to school in '94, but then voided that and re-registered in St. Louis and voted absentee after the big '94 elections...that was more for pride though. It's a heck a lot easier to vote in your college town, but that could pose residency problems down the line, I think.

If so, it's not fair.

I think there should be a single standard for who's considered a "resident". If some of the people who happen to satisfy the rules are college students, well, that's the way it is. (But what do I know? I also think towns should actually enforce public drunkenness, public nuisance, and noise ordinances, and arrest/fine/evict people who violate them.. .rather than pass zoning that prohibits college students.)

They shouldn't be allowed to vote at all, until they've worked for a living and paid taxes. :p

I guess what concerns me is the idea of being caught 'between states'. If your parents still have their house and it's you last address of record, then fine. But if you give up your physical residence to move to your college, then how could you claim residence at and address you no longer rent or own?

The bottom line is that everyone lives somewhere, and the US tradition is to not tie the right to vote to property ownership.

Students should apply for postal registration for their home town.
In my opinion it's better that they shouldn't be eligible to vote somewhere where they are (statistically) unlikely to be living for the full future term of the candidates.

Yes, they might not end up living back where they came from either, but the fact that their families probably will, might prevent them from making protest votes?

Hey Bruce - what happened to no taxation without representation? ;)

ETA due to Rich's post - in cases where the student does not have a permanent "home" ie family address, then of course their place of residence should be their college location. No-one of age should ever be denied the vote - many people in the past died to get the vote, its importance should never be under-estimated.

Doesn't say you have to pay the taxes first though?

We had this issue a few years back in a local city - a mid-sized private college was running into zoning issues while developing property they owned for campus expansion. They encouraged all of the students to register locally, in the hopes that they would vote for a pro-university city council member to influence the rezoning issues.

The school was officially neutral on the candidates, and didn't actively campaign for the candidate at all, but the registration of the students was enough to influence the election, and change the zoning restrictions.

I'm of two minds on this issue. The students are living there for 4 years, and are residents of the local community. If you try to write restrictions to limit them from voting, you'll end up creating unintended consequences that prevent many of the more transient local citizens (renters, etc.) from voting.

Choice preferably but vote where they go to school.

I will be living here after I graduate and my hometown politics mean really little to me.

It's not at all a slam-dunk that the students are going to vote for what the university wants!

Children pay taxes, and have representation, but can't vote.

We've been paying taxes for 7 years and still can't vote......


apparently the fact that we live somewhere with politicians to represent us counts as representation, even if we get no say in who it is. A bit like the state providing you with an attorney to defend you when they prosecute you, maybe....

You can't choose who represents you, but you can still bitch at them if you don't like the way they are doing it. They won't check to see if you're a registered voter or not.
In truth they probably won't put much stock in your individual complaints either, but will add it to their constituent mood file of complaint topics.

Are you planning on applying for citizenship?

The absentee ballot is made for this situation. It is essentially the same geographically-displaced situation as active duty military are in.

We end up shrugging at the inevitable question of how informed a voter the student is on any but a national election. It comes with the territory.

They should be treated like we in the military were. You only vote where you are an official resident.

So because someone has moved into an area, specifically to better themselves, they aren't allowed to influence local politics?
Why is going to college any different than moving to the area to work? Most college students aren't getting a free, parent-funded ride. They take out loans, while working side jobs for living money. The money that they give to local colleges and universities provide jobs and tax income for those same communities.
Tell me again in what way they aren't productive members of society?

Dude. They're college students. They aren't productive anything of anything.

MD: Is it a productive cough?

Dr Katz, Professional Therapist: I don't know. I'm not using it for anything.

For DC residents, it may be your only chance to vote for a member of Congress.

I'm seeing one hell of a lot of ignorance here, and I don't get why it's present.

You want to vote locally, you damned well register to vote locally, giving your local address. You eventually go away, you register again, somewhere else.

At college age, this doesn't come up a frightful lot, as the 18-23 year olds aren't thrilled with doing wide-world politics, finding it tedious or variously discomforting. Generally, it takes ten years more or even longer to take an interest.

The problem being, UG, that some folks don't want the college students to be able to register locally. Hence, the flyer from the Iowa Republicans and our discussion. I'm not disagreeing with your assessment of 18-23 y.o.'s, just noting that there are people that don't want them to exercise their franchise locally.

GD right.

In that case, headsplice, the locals-only manger dogs should not be allowed to have their way about it. Instead, they should recruit likeminded people, on the campus, into their faction. Natural competition, just like The Dartmouth v. the The_Dartmouth_Review.

I vote in the town that I go to school; it was a vague semi-hawkish decision that I don't really know how to rationalize anymore; something about being more interested in voting in '06 in NY than in OR.

But, as a question in the abstract: Change of residency seems almost to be on hiatus when in school; NY flatly states that, for the purposes of gaining residency (i.e. in-state tuition rates), for at least one year your primary reason for living in NY has to be something other than higher education. This makes me think that I can retain my OR residency, insofar as the DMV, my heart, etc, are concerned (never fully changed to NY residency), while voting and paying taxes (working only NY jobs, to avoid part-time-resident tax forms) in NY...

Which really comes to the crux of the issue. Whether or not college students work, providing direct income tax for the town/etc, they're consumers on a vast scale, providing semi-direct income. It seems only reasonable to permit some political input, however flaccid.

Poor college students are a souce of some income at a local level. But rich tourists contribute hugely to a local economy. Tourists are not allowed to vote.

Shouldn't the term "if any" be inserted after "tourists?"

I don't think so. Tourist areas are like areas that have college students. Some have them, some do not. The US has become a hot tourist destination as the dollar declines in value.

It seems to me that this argument is denied when talking about migrant workers - their contribution via consumption is dismissed as negligible as they send their wages home. Just a thought.

Damm tootin, as they suck off our social system.:cool:

They send home what they can spare. Of late, that's less.

Some bloggage.

From New America Media.

Is there proof of that, instead of just assertion?

The property and work requirement has long ago been abolished.

Who said anything about property? As long as the people who are not paying the bills continues to increase, they will keep voting themselves more entitlements.

From here: History Learning Site

What happens if a student goes to college in a foreign country? Should those countries allow them to vote there?

No. They are not citizens of that country. Unless you require your people to become naturalised when they move from state to state the comparison doesn't really hold up.

Which we don't. Only if you want to vote where you've moved to, you need to register with the local department of elections. A one-page form, no fees. Says you live there, allows for declaration of your party persuasion, or even none at all.

That's something I have never really understood about American politics, the declared support for one or another party. How does that work? It is separate from membership of the party is it?

Declaring a party affiliation, or preference, allows you to vote in that party's primary. You don't actually have to be a member of that party.

Is the register of electors public? I mean, if you declare an affiliation or preference can anybody access that information about you?

Well Dana, people do access that information for data crunching if you are campaigning. The lists are sold to people in marketing. I do not believe the lists are publicly available on the internet because they are worth good money.
:)

From http://usacm.acm.org/usacm/VRD/
In some areas they are online, but most are not.

I have done it both ways ... in my first election as a college student, I remained registered at home, and sent in a write-in ballot (voting, incidentally, for Independent candidate, John Anderson of Illinois). In the years following that, I registered at my college dorm address, because of the potential effect that the town elections had on the campus ... and because I hated E.Z. Taylor and needed to vote against her.

Depends on the state. Some you do, some you don't.

Yes, Dana, registration as a such-and-such in the voter rolls isn't the same as party membership -- for that you sign up with the party in question, and may pay membership dues. Partisan/party activists usually do this.

What? :eek: You mean in some states you have to pay to vote in the primary?

:D

Break time!

Thanks Jinx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCiLCo-LoUg

We have been doing this in New Hampshire for some time and it is not a good idea becasue it does not stop with simply letting students vote.

There has been some movement in my state to change the rules so that anyone can vote anyplace in the state - regardless of where they reside.

And this is a direct result of one party wanting to effect the outcome of local elections with bussed-in students (whose votes are really not needed by that particular party in the college towns where they reside).


Of course, those votes could make a big difference in other wards around the state.

The other problem is that no body ever checks to see who is cheating and who is not.

So kids with out-of-state scholarships (paid for by my tax dollars) are claiming residence in my state and (for the most part) cancelling out my (usually conservative) vote.

We also want them to do things like register their cars here and etc but, so far, they get away with paying those fees to their home town while effecting our elections.

Welcome to the Cellar, Mr Rockhead. :D
Voting where you don't live, on local issues, sounds like political shenanigans to me.
Must be those wetbacks that came from MA.

Lobstah-backs?

Nah, those would be from Maine.

Lobster People will eat you fo dinner.