The Cellar - View Single Post - Should College Students be allowed to vote where they attend college

Skunks · 05-23-2008, 09:43 AM

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.

05-23-2008, 09:43 AM	#26
Skunks I thought I changed this. Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: western nowhere, ny Posts: 412	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.