voting as a college student.

[Kahns Krazy]

I found this interesting because when I was in college, the percentage of voters was much lower, at least among people I knew.

90% of Xavier students say they plan to vote.

http://www.xavier.edu/news/Majority-of-Xavier-students-polled-last-month-say-they-plan-to-vote-in-the-election-on-Tuesday.cfm


I'm asking because I really don't know/ remember. Where do college students vote? At their school address? Home address by absentee? Does it depend? Is it up to the student?

[XU05and07]

I found this interesting because when I was in college, the percentage of voters was much lower, at least among people I knew.

90% of Xavier students say they plan to vote.

http://www.xavier.edu/news/Majority-of-Xavier-students-polled-last-month-say-they-plan-to-vote-in-the-election-on-Tuesday.cfm


I'm asking because I really don't know/ remember. Where do college students vote? At their school address? Home address by absentee? Does it depend? Is it up to the student?

College students can vote at their home address as absentee, unless they go back to their homes to vote and then they can vote as usual.

OR

College students can vote at the college address since they spend a majority of the year at that residence and the issues in that area can directly affect them.

They have the choice

[Emp]

Same question posed to both Obama and McCain campaign staff assigned to Columbus OH lead to quesitons about whether they intended to remain a resident. Someone at the BOE or the Dispatch called them on it. The Oboma staff agreed to withdraw registration, but the McCain staff did not.

So at least in Ohio you apparently have to have to affirmatively indicate you intend to remain a resident. Of course I could look it up....

[KC4X]

I saw a Xavier student and another person interviewed on the news last night. They were both sent absentee ballots and were registered in Ohio. When the X student called the board of elections in GA (her home state), they told her that if she registered in Ohio, it would nullify her GA registration. However, that is not true.

I think it was channel 9 that did the study of three states (OH, GA, and FL). They cross-checked the lists of registered voters and found hundreds (I think) on more than one. When they spoke to Jennifer Brunner(?), she said there is no way currently for one state to cross-check their list with another state.

So, it looks like students could vote twice if they want to break the law. I think the punishment is something like 6 months in jail, but no one is checking. Scary.

[Snipe]

I don't think anyone goes to jail for voting twice. They have found it in previous elections. It doesn't seem that we take election law seriously.

[Kahns Krazy]

Cut it out Snipe. We all know your code. "Voting twice"?

[xu2006]

During my time at X I was registered in my home state and Ohio. I only voted in Ohio because I thought my vote was worth more in a battleground state.

I guess I could have driven home and voted again... meh.

[Kahns Krazy]

College students can vote at their home address as absentee, unless they go back to their homes to vote and then they can vote as usual.

OR

College students can vote at the college address since they spend a majority of the year at that residence and the issues in that area can directly affect them.

They have the choice

I'm not sure that's the case. I don't think there's such thing as a dual residency. It may be the practical outcome, but I'm not sure it's the legal answer. For example, if you register to vote in Ohio, I think you need to change the registration on your car, if you have one, and your driver's license. I don't think you can be a resident of whichever state suits your fancy. You would also need to file your taxes as a resident of Ohio.

[Kahns Krazy]

From the Sec. of state site.


May a college student register and vote from his or her school address in Ohio?
Yes, a student may vote using his or her Ohio school residence address. However, the student may not also vote an absentee ballot where he or she last lived (e.g. with one or more parent or guardian). When a college student votes from his or her school address, the school residence is considered to be the place to which the student's habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the student is absent, the student intends to return, and is considered by the student to be his or her permanent residence at the time of voting.

[XU05and07]

I'm not sure that's the case. I don't think there's such thing as a dual residency. It may be the practical outcome, but I'm not sure it's the legal answer. For example, if you register to vote in Ohio, I think you need to change the registration on your car, if you have one, and your driver's license. I don't think you can be a resident of whichever state suits your fancy. You would also need to file your taxes as a resident of Ohio.

They can choice to register with their college address or stay registered at their home address...they do get that choice

[Kahns Krazy]

The way I read it, the only way they should be registering in Ohio is if they intend for their Ohio address to be permanent, and if that's the case, they should be getting Ohio ID's and registering their cars in Ohio, and filing tax returns in the state of ohio. I don't belive you can be a legal resident of one state for voting purposes and another for driving, etc.

The reality of it, I'm sure, is far different.

It is rather amazing that the country can't seem to come up with a single voter database that would un-register you in one location when you register in another. As far as I can tell, there is no way to "unregister" to vote in Ohio.

[XU05and07]

It is rather amazing that the country can't seem to come up with a single voter database that would un-register you in one location when you register in another. As far as I can tell, there is no way to "unregister" to vote in Ohio.

We were talking about that in the office today...have a system that has every registered voter and what ballot they are to fill out. Once they sign in, they get their ballot on the screen and once they finish, their name is no longer on the list of people allowed to vote. It would remove the need for specific polling locations and lines, as long as they got the electronic version of your ballot to be loaded.

That is in a perfect world, but with technology, there has to be something different that can be done. It's amazing that people cannot figure out a better system.

[Snipe]

It would be a lot simpler and less time consuming if we just went back to only letting men vote.

[blobfan]

It's scary how easy it would be to vote in 2 states and get away with it. My husband and I had a friend live with us for a few months and he registered to vote using our address. He later moved to Kentucky and registered to vote there. After that, the first time we received a voter registration card for him at our house, we ignored it as a delay in processing. The second time I was a bit concerned. The 3rd time I called the Ohio Board of Elections to inform them that our friend was currently registered in a different state and had in fact voted in that state several times. The next election, he still received a voter registration card from Ohio. In fact, I think this Spring, or perhaps last fall, was the first time in years he hasn't been sent a voter registration card from Ohio at our address.

[Kahns Krazy]

Agreed. As far as I can tell, there is no mechanism to 'unregister' in Ohio except missing several elections in a row, or having your registration notices returned as 'undeliverable'. There is nobody you can notify to have your name removed.

[Snipe]

Three TV stations in Ohio, Florida & Georgia compared (http://www.wsbtv.com/politics/17876720/detail.html) voter lists in those states and found 112,000 voters who were registered in more than one state. If you had a comprehensive national database that compared all 50 states I am sure the list would consist of millions of people.