An excerpt from the New York Times:
Indeed, the Montgomery County registrar, E. Randall Wertz, said several students had canceled their local registration over their worry about the possible consequences. Mr. Wertz said he had issued the release to try to dispel confusion and explain what he believed to be the consequences of choosing a college address as a primary residence.
“My understanding of state law has been that by declaring you’re voting here, you’re saying this is your primary residence, your domicile, and that while you can have many abodes or residences, you can only have one domicile,” Mr. Wertz said. “And if this is your primary residence, you have to register your vehicle here, charge your driver’s license to here and so on. That’s been the interpretation at state training sessions.”
There are many students who attend a university outside of their hometown. I, was one of those students, as were many of my friends. Voting was important to us, so we registered where we lived for the majority of the year during college- in our college town. It was very difficult, and sometimes unfeasible, for students to return home to vote during elections. One reason, many elections take place during weekday. There could be conflicts with class schedules or work. Another reason was that the distance, for some, was just too much.
Many towns and cities benefit from having a university- and university students- in their territory. Why not afford them their right to vote? Four years may not seem like a lot of time for permanent residents of a community, but for the college student that takes notice, it’s time not to be wasted.
