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WestrnMom
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| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
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Posted: Mon Jun 4th, 2007 11:35 pm |
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Do they register at home and then vote by sample ballot or at school, and then remember to change their registration in time for spring voting at home, and then back again to the school address for fall? In theory, sample ballots should work. In practice, it's very difficult to work out logistically where they are mailed, how they get them mailed if they aren't home to fill out the paperwork.
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mackinaw
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Michigan |
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Posted: Mon Jun 4th, 2007 11:51 pm |
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Every state has different rules about this, as well as different procedures. Here's a little general background but you'll have to sort out what pertains to your situation.
Regarding rules, in principle for the census students living away from home while attending school are to be enumerated according to the location of their school. And many states use a similar rule regarding voter eligibility -- that is, the student's school residence is their voting residence.
In Michigan, about 5 years ago they changed this rule, so that even though in the 2000 census students were supposed to be enumerated according to their residence on April 1 in school, for purposes of voting they were eligible to vote only in their home town (unless they had permanently moved to their new location near the school). The effect of this was to disenfranchise many students because those who didn't plan ahead found that they hadn't obtained the absentee ballots in time. (A certain Congressman in our state who was in the state legislature at the time was an important engineer of this bill and got himself elected to Congress by essentially disenfranchising students in his district, after first playing a key role also in gerrymandering his future Congressional district in his favor.) An additional consideration is the students' drivers license addresses. In Michigan, it's better (if they want to keep their voting franchise) to keep their family's home address on their drivers licenses while they're undergrads. As a practical matter, it's also easier because they tend to change their at-school address at least once per year.
But if they're in graduate school or have permanently moved out of their family's household, then I recommend that students register to vote where they're attending school and that they also change their drivers' license address so that they have a local ID in this new location.
In most states, one of these approaches is used for college students: family home or place of school. In some cases, students have a choice how to do it -- as long as they only vote in one location, of course. The most important thing for your student is to ask the Secretary of State (or similar official at the state level, or else the local voting registrar) what the rules are for determining their place of residence for voting purposes. And then it's up to them to figure out how to get ballots -- in some cases, going home to vote on election day or -- if they can't return "home" to vote -- then on an earlier day to cast an absentee ballot or request an absentee ballot by mail or phone or whatever is allowed for. (They have to think ahead on this -- including confirming their voting residence in time, possibly changing it 30 days before election day, or according to whatever other rule may apply in their state.)
Everything I mentioned above basically touches on the situation of students who are attending school in their home state. Those attending in other states may have special rules. In fact, they may or may not have an incentive to keep their "permanent" residence, tax residence, voting residence, and drivers license residence in the same place -- again you have to look into the rules that apply to your situation. I think that in most situations it will be best to keep these 4 "id's" the same as well as in their "home location" at least while they're undergrads. (That's what my kids did -- they both went to school out of state.) After that, whether they move into the working world or to grad school, they may want to recalibrate how they handle this, recognizing that different rules apply to each of those types of id.
Last edited on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 02:41 am by mackinaw
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Lynda
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 12:43 am |
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Son is attending college in same state, different county. He turned 18 just a few weeks before college and registered at college address. I believe they have some sort of registration thing going on at the college each year. Univ of Redlands has shuttle service to the polls on voting day. I remember him emailing me the first time he voted-he was rather excited.
The Redlands community and University get along well. I would have thought the residents would not want students voting on their issues. It seems that they get along great. Honestly, I think son's home is Redlands, not where he sleeps and keeps his stuff in the summer.
Son did get jury duty base on DL(our home) address, the first summer. Didn't get on a jury-darn-the $15/d was more than the $0/d while he was job hunting. This past yr he got another summons-I called and because he was away at school, he didn't have to serve at that time.
Last edited on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 12:44 am by Lynda
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 12:52 am |
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My daughter registered to vote in the state where she goes to school. It was a very simple process - she actually registered the same day she voted for the first time, and they accepted her student ID as proof of residency. I'm not sure if Wisconsin has any rules against it, but they didn't tell her or her friends no, which surprised me.
But, just a heads up: When she wanted to take a course this summer at a community college here in California, they asked her where she was registered to vote as part of the process of determining where she is a legal resident. Of course she said she was registered to vote in Wisconsin. Even though she has her driver's license and bank accounts here in California still, they were pretty tough about giving her the in-state tuition rate because of the Wisconsin voter registration. She had to fill out some additional paperwork, and prove that she graduated from a California high school. Because she's over 18, our proof of residency (bills, home ownership) didn't seem to matter to them. They wanted proof that SHE was still a California resident. This might be something to keep in mind if there's any chance that your child who's going to college out of state will want to take courses over the summer at your state's public institutions. I also suspect that it could also potentially, in some cases, be an issue for graduate school in-state tuition rates in some states.
Last edited on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 12:55 am by CarolynLawrence
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jocelynDAD
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 01:03 am |
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Where does the student have his/her driving license.
That is key. If, as here in New Jersey, insurance rates for under 25 year old drivers is much too high. We have encouraged our children to switch or get their driver's license at the school location (After all they do spend 9 + months of the year at that locale).
Supporting that action, they register to vote in that location as well. True for income tax purposes they are our dependent, but a college age student can remain your dependent while living at college. So no conflict with IRS actions. Further, they can still send data (grades, bills etc) to the parent's address even though they are living in another state. But, for insurance purposes, if they have a car at college, it is registered in their name in that state and insurance is gotten at that location. We have transfer titles of cars to effect that transition.
BTW, if they work at college, the local and state take tax $ from their pay so they are in effect already working in that state. Ergo, we have them file under the local college address for the IRS.
We have to remember that at 18, they are no longer seen as 'dependent' on us and we are no longer 'legally responsible' for their actions. Ergo, where they register car, to vote, pay taxes, etc etc etc is totally their privilege - we have no 'rights' at law on their anything!!!
It is a major change in thought process and is difficult for the first time college parent, but it is what it is and we are only advisors in the eyes of the law and the state!
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mackinaw
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Michigan |
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 01:03 am |
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Carolyn,
This is one reason why I think it's generally best to keep your "home" residence as long as you're an undergraduate. You may in some states otherwise risk jeopardizing your residency for purposes of tuition. I'm not sure your daughter's case would always be handled the same way even in CA. But JDad's experience is also worth considering.
Also, when I was in grad school at UW, since they didn't allow me to claim WI residence as long as I remained a student, I decided to keep my CA voting residence as well. I voted by absentee ballot, and called my Mom for advice about local candidates I didn't know much about.
Generally speaking, once you make the post-graduation "permanent" move, I recommend getting your various addresses and residences aligned with one another.
Last edited on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 01:26 am by mackinaw
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 01:20 am |
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| Great points, JD and Mackinaw. Thanks for sharing them -- gives me lots to mull over and perhaps discuss with my daughter.
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 03:04 am |
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Voter registration in WI is relatively "open" and students attending school there have always (at least since my childhood) been able to vote in local elections. This was a national issue in the 2000 presidential election because the margin in WI was razor thin (about 6,000 votes, if I recall) and it turned out that there were quite a few students (in particular at Marquette, but possibly other places, too) who had "double-voted", both at school and at home via absentee ballot.
Qualifying for resident tuition, however, has always been a more difficult proposition in which voter registration is just a single factor among many considerations. My sister-in-law once worked in the office which made this determination and she reports it was not "fun" to have to tell students and their families that they didn't qualify for residency.
Last edited on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 03:10 am by Descartes
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Chedva
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 11:48 am |
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| When we were looking for colleges, my d considered where to vote, and where her vote would make more of a "difference" in national elections! We're from MA, so another democratic vote is not a big deal, but in Virginia, it might have been. Of course, now she's going to another "blue" state (NY), so she could probably vote in either state! Last edited on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 11:48 am by Chedva
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mom61
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 03:35 pm |
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In Santa Barbara the issue of student voters is a hot topic. It can have a huge effect on local politics. The county board of supervisors is usually a mix of pro-growth and no growth members. The district seat that includes Isla Vista is often the vote that sways the issue one way or the other. It is one of the most contested seats and many feel that the candidate who can get the student vote has the edge. Aside from IV the remaining part of that district is conservative and pro-growth.
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mackinaw
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| Location: | Michigan |
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 03:41 pm |
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I live in a university town, so the student vote is potentially very significant. But the new law in MI that I mentioned above mitigates the potential of this vote, since most students now keep their voting residence at "home."
Also, we have "at-large" elections (not precinct or ward representation), which dilutes the potential representation of students on the city council. And we hold our school board and city council elections during the summer -- again mitigating the impact of any student vote. Voting turnout even among locally registered students is also very low.
Last edited on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 03:43 pm by mackinaw
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jocelynDAD
Member
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 03:54 pm |
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Mac:
When a state college or university has a significantly large proportion of their students from in-state - it is easy to see that many would not change their voting location or their driver's licence address because of convenience etc.
However, when a student selects an OOS school (private or public) they are selecting a state and a residence significantly different from their parent's home and with the Federal Law and the fact that at 18 - the student is an adult and 'emancipated' from her/his parents, well the 'equal protection' clause is in effect and that student has the full right to proclaim their residence either in the 'new' state or the 'old' state. 
The census is what it is, however not counting the students at the college or university, even though, for 9-10 months each year the local area supports the student population with various services does rebound negatively to that local area as far as the Federal aid and other bene's are concerned. 
BTW, the gerrymandering at your local level does tend to keep 'power from the people' - sad to say IMO. 
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mackinaw
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 04:27 pm |
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(1) The U.S. census definition of place of residence of students away from home at college is pretty much consistent with international practice (UN standards). Special procedures are also used for people in military service (generally "counted" at their place of call-up, not place of service). This depends in part on whether the census uses a "permanent" (de jure) or "present" (de facto) concept in defining people's location or residence.
(2) While students going out of state should indeed have the option of choosing their voting residence, there are risks as we've noted above, when students want to return to their home state and are no longer considered to be "residents" for tuition purposes and yet at the same time not residents for tuition purposes in their new location. I still favor aligning voting residence, drivers license residence, and tax residence (to the extent that this is defined federally: the address you put on your tax form) for undergraduate students, and keeping that at "home" until the student has truly moved out of the family's house permanently (which I would say is when they take a fulltime job or are in graduate school).
(A peculiarity that a colleague of mine ran into. He took sabbatical leave to NY one year, and while he received part of his income from a post-doc in NY and part from his regular salary at the university here, he decided to file his federal and state taxes using his temporary address in NY -- since that's where he wanted to get the tax refunds sent (even though his actual "home" was still in MI and he was leasing out his MI house during the year). Alas, the state of MI denied him his claim for a "homestead exemption" because it no longer considered him a MI resident. Evidence? He had listed his NY address on his tax forms. This cost him a pretty penny! So you have to pay attention to what addresses you and your kids put on their tax forms when they are truly temporarily residing somewhere. Based on his experience, when I took sabbatical leaves in California and Massachusetts, I made sure to keep my MI home address on all tax forms. There were other reasons to do that, namely as further proof that I was living and working "temporarily away from my permanent residence and job" when I was on sabbatical, and thus could deduct a portion of my rent and other expenses while working "temporarily" in CA or MA. If I had, say, sold my house here or not kept this as my permanent address, even though I intended to return after the sabbatical and was only on "temporary leave," there was far greater probability that I would run into trouble with the tax people. Of course, I paid state taxes prorated in two states, but there was still the issue of deductions of my expenses while on leave.)
(3) Indeed things are gerrymandered here to minimize the impact of what some people regard as "temporary" residents -- the students. But they do have the option to change their permanent residence (and still be a "dependent" on their parents' taxes, as you know). But this has its own inconveniences, as they may not have a drivers license (DL) with their actual address, or they constantly have to update it as they change from dorms to off campus housing, etc. So it's convenient to keep their DL as their parent's home address until they fully leave the nest. Unless and until we develop a national ID card or something equivalent to that (or a population registry system, as they have in many countries, but will probably never happen in the U.S.) the drivers license is important for establishing both identity and place of residence. So the address on that license matters for many reasons.
Last edited on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 06:16 pm by mackinaw
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mom61
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 05:22 pm |
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| Jocelyn's Dad. With UCSB most students are residents of Ca so there would be no need to change registration. What has happen and many object to is the intense outreach to students to get them to register to vote and to register using the school address or if they are already registered to change the address.
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jocelynDAD
Member
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 07:48 pm |
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Mom61:
Having lived in Newbury Park section of 1000 oaks some years ago and having enjoyed going over the Pass into Cupertino and up to SB for the shopping et al, I am aware of the 'elitist' view of the 'natives' (usually with as much as 10 years living in California) towards any 'tourist' that is not a resident.
Locales benefit in many fashions from having a qualified college or university in their area. Many residents take classes, attend shows etc. The college kids spend their money locally, jobs are plentiful, tourist (motels/restaurants/shopping) $$ come to the town and of course the permenent staff (Professors/Administrators)move into the town and are (hopefully) a positive influence.
When I see a town be so negative towards the college students - I think that
'cutting off your nose to spite your face' is not the wisest policy.
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mom61
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 11:26 pm |
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jocelyndad- I've been here 20 years and I doubt to many if I qualify as a local. Though the attitude if your parents and grandparents weren't born here you will never be a local is not nearly as strong as it was when I first moved here.
I think the local south coast (SB, goleta) fully support the university including me. Many of them attended UCSB and never left. Where it gets tricky is that since you know the area is that Isla Vista is in the supervisor district that mainly encompasses Santa Ynez and the North county over the other hill 40 minutes north.
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