The
Attack on Student Voting Rights Inside Higher Ed - 31 Dec 2007
... USA - Rock the Vote cites many examples of attempts to attack student
voting rights. In 2004 near Prairie View A&M (a historically black
university located in a majority white county in Texas), District Attorney
Oliver Kitzman publicly declared, “it’s not right for any
college student to vote where they do not have permanent residency,”
and threatened to prosecute students who tried to register to vote.
In 2004, after several students at the College of William & Mary
ran for city council in Williamsburg, Virginia, the local register declared
four students did not live in town and could not run for office or vote
there. In February 2007, a state representative in Maine even proposed
a bill to ban students from voting where they go to college ...
Student
volunteers descend on Iowa Politico - 31 Dec 2007
... IOWA - Young people enthusiastic about their candidate, or in some
cases just the democratic process generally, are descending on Iowa
in droves to volunteer and observe.
Some, obviously, are directly volunteering for candidates.
Others are students at Iowa colleges who grew up out of state and are
coming back just to caucus. And a few are there to learn about the process
...
Ohio
campus recalls impact of poll lines MLive - 29 Dec 2007
... GAMBIER, OH — Kenyon College student Ann Shikany couldn't
wait to vote for the first time. When she finally got the chance, she
waited. And waited.
Shikany stood, sat, ate and napped in line for more
than 10 hours in 2004 in this college town, home to the longest voting
lines in the country ...
West
Chester student denied run for Borough Council
Daily Local News - 2 Apr 2007
...WEST CHESTER, PA — A West Chester University student who was
hoping to run for Borough Council won’t be able
to, because of a registration error on the part of the Chester County
Department of Voter Services.
Anthony Pugliese, a WCU sophomore, was registered in
the 4th Ward and planned to run in the May primary as a Republican.
But Voter Services recently told him his residence, University Hall,
a student housing complex on campus, is not in the 4th Ward.
“He wasn’t doing wrong on purpose,”
said Lynn Doherty, a staff person for Voter Services. “He had
been told he was in the 4th Ward, and we had him registered in the 4th
Ward.” ...
College
student makes bid for Muncie mayor seat Star-Press - 20 Jan 2007
...MUNCIE, IN - Add 21-year-old Philip H. Peckinpaugh to the small but
growing list of Democratic mayoral candidates wanting to succeed Mayor
Dan Canan.
"Going in to this, I know I'm definitely a huge
underdog, that the cards are stacked against me," said the Indiana
State University student, who's studying political science and communications.
"But some of our greatest leaders in history have been first-timers,
and it's usually the first-timers who make history." ...
Chapel
Hill resident wins UNC student post
Herald-Sun - 15 Feb 2006
...CHAPEL HILL, NC - James Allred, who has lived in Chapel Hill since
he was a toddler, will be UNC's next student body president...
Allred, a chemistry major and Morehead scholar, also
hopes to use his insider's view of Chapel Hill to promote town-gown
issues, such as adding more blue safety lights to streets near campus
and getting academic credit for students who sit on town boards and
commissions...
Junior
announces bid for city council
The Flat Hat - 11 Feb 2006
...WILLIAMSBURG, VA - Junior David Sievers announced Tuesday that he
would become the latest College student to seek a position on the Williamsburg
City Council, a move that has been attempted unsuccessfully by several
students in the past few years. Sievers said that he will be taking
the semester off in order to devote as much time as possible to his
campaign.
“I decided to run because Williamsburg needs
someone on the City Council to decide issues that affect everyone,”
Sievers said in an interview Wednesday. “We need to establish
meaningful dialogue, and I think I am the best candidate for that.”...
UC
Davis student runs for council
Enterprise - 11 Feb 2006
...DAVIS, CA - Roy's platform is built on students, he said, adding
that he believes the current City Council doesn't consider students
when making decisions.
“I think the students are, in fact, the backbone
of Davis,” Roy said. “We're the only reason it's on the
map. The City Council is out of touch with the backbone.”..
New
councilwoman quick to contribute
Post - 10 Feb 1006
...ATHENS, OH - One of Athens City Council's newest members, Amy Flowers,
is not only an Ohio University graduate student at age 19, she's also
the youngest elected official in the state.
Flowers was elected to one of the council at-large
positions in November and is already working on quite a few projects
with other council members.
"It seems like she just steps up to the plate
and gets things done,"...
Bill
Would Restrict Voting For College Dorm Residents WMUR - 8 Feb 2006
...CONCORD, NH - New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a proposal
to ban students who live in college dormitories from voting in college
towns.
Mont Vernon Republican William O'Brien said students
should only be allowed to vote if they have made a commitment to the
town where they live.
Opponents say the bill is unconstitutional because
it creates different classes of voters. Students who live in other forms
of housing, such as fraternity houses, would not be excluded from being
a qualified voter in the town...
Students'
input central to talks Daily Tar Heel - 13 Apr 2005
...CHAPEL HILL, NC - Many University students have tried — and
failed — to become a member of the Chapel Hill Town Council...
Voting
laws get close look Primary
boosters watch for changes
Foster's Daily Democrat - 13 Mar 2005
...CONCORD, NH - Ebel has a message for Albert and others who do not
feel college students, particularly those from out-of-state, should
be allowed to register at the polls.
“College students have the constitutional right
to vote where they go to college. People in New Hampshire who do not
like that are going to have to live with it,” Ebel said. “Now,
if they find a college student voted here and in their home state, that
is voter fraud and they should be prosecuted. But the complaints we
are hearing are from those who don’t want ‘outsides’
voting in our elections.”
While there are claims of voter fraud in college towns,
Ebel said the opposite is true.
“There have been inordinate roadblocks thrown
up. In Hanover, every college student was challenged,” Ebel said.
College voting continues to be a source of complaint,
Fitch said, but he agreed with Ebel’s assessment.
“It’s a population whose conduct
is prone to making it difficult to keeping track of who and where they
are,” Fitch said of college students. “That doesn’t
change their right to vote.”...
Students
fighting for right to register to vote in college towns AP - 27 Aug 2004
...CHICAGO -- Young Han tried to register to vote in the New York town
where he attends college but got a letter telling him to cast an absentee
ballot where his parents live, more than 2,000 miles away. In Virginia,
Luther Lowe and Serene Alami were told much the same _ their campus
addresses at the College of William & Mary were deemed "temporary."
With so much emphasis on getting
young people to the polls this election, the issue of where college
students can register to vote is getting more attention. And some students
_ who believe they should have the right to vote where they live
most of the year _ are getting organized...
Party
Hacks
Election chiefs trim voter rolls to benefit GOP In These Times - 20 Aug 2004
...In New Hampshire, Republicans have made a pastime of resisting young
voters in college towns. Students in the university town of Durham turned
out to vote in 2002, only to receive a handout from election proctors
laced with scare tactics, including the warning that they could jeopardize
their financial aid by voting at an address other than their permanent
home.
The strategy successfully diminished turnout, and Democrats felt the
sting. The GOP took full control of state government, rolling from parity
in the state senate to a rollicking 18-to-6 majority. In the next session
on strict party-line votes, they promptly pushed through a sweeping
bill to limit access to voting and toughen sanctions for fraud.
This spring, the state’s Republican House
Speaker Gene Chandler put a razor-fine point on the motives behind the
law. “It is simply not right to allow college students to have
any say in our elections in New Hampshire,” he told a public forum.
“We need to control that.”...
W&M
students running for City Council? Bravo! Daily Press - 29 Feb 2004
...Some time before the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg began,
life was so uneventful in the small, dying city that officials forgot
to hold the regular city election. One wag described the population
as 500 lazies and 500 crazies...
3
more W&M students file suit:
Four are now seeking to register to vote and run for City Council Times-Dispatch - 28 Feb 2004
...Virginia election laws are not completely clear on the residency
status of college students in their college towns. The issue is sensitive
because residential students make up a significant portion of the population
in college towns.
In Williamsburg, W&M students are about half the
city population of 12,000...
W&M
student files voting suit:
Sophomore seeks to register to vote in Williamsburg, run for City Council
seat Times Dispatch - 27 Feb 2004
...Saunders, 19, is one of four W&M students who have launched campaigns
for three open City Council seats that will be filled by election May
4.
He and the other candidates ran into problems, however, negotiating
a voter-registration procedure that requires college students to fill
out surveys aimed at determining whether the student is a resident under
state election laws.
Saunders' application to register to vote was turned down by R. Wythe
Davis, Williamsburg's general registrar. Being a registered voter in
the city is a prerequisite for running in the election.
Saunders turned to the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, which
filed papers on his behalf seeking a temporary restraining order or
preliminary injunction that would force Davis to approve the voter registration
at least temporarily...
W&M
would-be candidates hit snag Times Dispatch - 18 Feb 2004
...WILLIAMSBURG - Four College of William and Mary students seeking
to run for the Williamsburg City Council have run up against voter-registration
rules that could keep them off the ballot.
With the students interested in three open council
seats, Williamsburg's registrar is trying to determine which students
may vote by giving detailed surveys to dorm residents who apply for
registration...
Students
deserve representation Collegiate Times - 18 Feb 2004
...Four students from the College of William and Mary have run aground
in their political ambitions. The students who are seeking positions
in the Williamsburg city council must meet residency standards established
by the city registrar.
Currently, residency rules do not allow for campus housing as a permanent
address and take into consideration other aspects such as a parent’s
residence when determining an individual student’s status...
City
Council Race Heats Up DoG Street Journal - 14 Feb 2004
...Before a densely packed audience of students, community leaders,
and a TV news crew, three more students declared their intention to
run for Williamsburg City Council, adding to the appearance that something
no college town across America has ever experienced could happen –
a city governed in part by its students...
Three
more students announce campaigns The Flat Hat - 13 Feb 2004
...Three College students added their names to the list of those vying
for positions on Williamsburg’s City Council Wednesday evening.
Junior Selene Alami, senior Robert Forrest and junior Luther Lowe announced
their candidacies for the May election in an open forum. Sophomore Seth
Saunders, who announced his own bid for City Council Jan. 27, was also
in attendance...
List
of council hopefuls up to 4 Virginia Gazette - 31 Jan 2004
...WILLIAMSBURG - The rental registration program has been important
and is beginning to show some real impact and improvements in the neighborhoods.”
Landlords have criticized the rental regs as unnecessary and bureaucratic.
Both sides await a ruling by a judge in a suit filed to block the program...
While rental housing and student housing seem to be “hot-button
issues,” there are other “community character issues”
he'd like to consider “to make sure neighborhoods maintain their
own small sense of community within the city...
Cornell
Students Take a Seat on Common Council Cornell Daily - 23 Jan 2004
...One of these issues involves rental housing in Collegetown. "The
rates of Collegetown housing have really skyrocketed," Taylor said.
He hopes to improve the experience for students renting off-campus by
providing some guidance in signing contracts and working with landlords.
"Students ... often are subject to exploitation and aren't aware
of their rights," Taylor said. Additionally, Townsend addressed
the need for attention to retail development and the beautification
of Collegetown...
Students
still fight for right to vote Star-Telegram - 21 Jan 2004
...As a rule, small college towns love their institutions and the students
who attend them until one of two things happens: The students begin
taking up parking space on neighborhood streets, or they decide to exercise
their right to vote in the city where they're attending school...
