We don't want "your kind" voting in our state (you dirty hippie lefties)

[SoCalDem]

New Hampshire bill may limit voting
Lawmakers target student residency
By Jennifer Vincent
Posted on Sunday, February 6th, 2011, 11:32 pm
http://mainecampus.com/2011/02/06/new-hampshire-bill-may-limit-voting/

House Bill 176, a bill proposed in the New Hampshire House of Representatives in January, may restrict the voting rights of college students to the district they resided in prior to enrolling in school.

This legislation, which assumes students will return to their previous residence upon completion of their education, is reminiscent of some comments made by some of Gov. Paul LePage’s staff members during his fall 2010 campaign. In an Oct. 7, 2010 article in the Bangor Daily News (“Comments on student voting earn LePage ire”), LePage spokesman Dan Demeritt confirmed that while LePage supports a student’s right to vote in state or national elections, he does not believe part-time residents should have the power to influence local elections.



snip

another smaller article
http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/02/07/nh-voting
<<<<<<<<.........................>>>>>>>

Why is this any different from ANYONE in ANY state? When we vote in Nov, are ANY of us 100% sure we will still be in that state/town a year later?

The blowback from this is also the fact that it might hurt republicans more, since they work very hard developing their "farm teams" of Young Republicans at colleges, and if they are to be treated as second-class citizens, they might not volunteer :)

[jpak]

1. LePage is an asshole who recently claimed residency in BOTH Maine and Florida

and said he will return to FL when he is eligible for SS - at the end of his term.

He also left Maine for Canada during Vietnam and returned after Carter declared amnesty for draft dodgers.

By his logic, he should not be able to vote in Maine

yup

[BlackHoleSon]

9. How in the world

did a draft dodger get elected to that office, much less dog-catcher.
I know IOKIYAAR, but fleeing your country to avoid service during wartime would seem to be an election killer?
I mean Kerry shooting himself 3 times to get out of Vietnam cost him the Presidency, right?

[jpak]

24. No one asked him about HIS immigration status - or his Vietnam Era draft status

but after his election - he rescinded the ban on state workers asking the applicants etc. about their immigration status

asshole

&

hypocrite

yup

[LiberalFighter]

18. Did this come out at all during the campaign?

Or was his opponent's campaign so stupid and didn't know how to use the info?

Why the hell do Maine residents want someone who doesn't have a vested interest in Maine's future?

[jpak]

23. Yes it did - and when he was asked about this he swore at the journalist

then denied it - even though it was videotaped

and he won with only 38% of the vote in a multi-candidate field.

:thumbsdown:

[LiberalFighter]

38. Geesh! That is a shame.

Are the state legislators mostly whack jobs or are there enough to prevent the Governor from totally screwing up the state?

[jpak]

40. We have a republic legislature (House and Senate) for the first time in decades

thanks to small rural districts.

Our new Speaker of the Maine House is a former pharmacist who "overcharged" the state by $1.2 million for Medicaid medical devices.

The Teabaggers have proclaimed him a "victim of the evil state" .

He has no intention of returning that money

nope

:thumbsdown:

[OHdem10]

2. The BIGGEST LIE: The Media and Republicans always tell

the country is conservative. We must conclude from that
the country is more Republican.

If there are so many Republicans why are Republicans
always making overt moves to suppress the vote?

If it is not young people, it is blacks especially
during elections (intimidation etc.) and Hispanics.

It they are so darn sure of themselves why must
they engage in these practices.

[dmr]

50. Good post.

:hi:

[Jane Austin]

3. Heh. Dartmouth is kind of a conservative haven, isn't it?

It's in New Hampshire, right?

[rox63]

31. Not all of NH is conservative

The area around Dartmouth has a liberal streak, because of the college. There are also a considerable number of liberals in Nashua, Manchester, Concord, Portsmouth, Keene and Peterborough.

[lady lib]

49. Er, not so much anymore.

One of my kids who attends says, yes, there are some vocal conservatives and Libertarians, but the majority of Dartmouth's students these days lean left.

[WatsonT]

4. I can kind of understand the sentiment

not that college kids usually determine elections.

But I could see why residents of a town might get annoyed by local elections swinging one way or another based on the college student vote. Those kids are going to be gone in 4 years generally. Whereas the affects of whatever policy they choose will be around much longer.

[jpak]

5. There is no guarantee that any voter will be a resident of that state the day after any election

to deny students the right the vote - anywhere - is wrong

yup

[WatsonT]

6. There is no guarantee true

but in general a college student is more likely to move on in a few years time than an average citizen.

Also they aren't being denied the right to vote.

A great many college students don't change their permanent address when they go off to college. That is one big difference between them and the townies. If you're legally registered to live in one place it seems like you should be voting there.

[jpak]

8. If they are a legal resident - they should vote - period

voter suppression - GOP Job 1

yup

[WatsonT]

11. A legal resident where?

You do realize not every citizen gets to vote in every election right?

I don't vote for mayors in other cities.

I don't vote for senators from other states.

No one is saying they are not allowed to vote. So your 'voter suppression' argument is a fallacy.

The debate is merely on where they can vote.

[jpak]

19. If they are a legal resident of that town and state - they should vote

if you live on campus or off campus in a house or an apt. and have a fucking drivers license with that address and have the fucking mail delivered there and register your fucking car in that town and register to fucking vote there

then

your eligible to vote

college ore not

No asshole republican can take that away from you

nope

[WatsonT]

21. There you go

now you're coming to the heart of the matter.

"if you live off campus in a house or an apt. and have a fucking drivers license with that address and have the fucking mail delivered there and register your fucking car in that town and register to fucking vote there"

And if they don't have a 'fucking drivers license with that address and have the fucking mail delivered there and register your fucking car in that town' where do they vote?

Did you go to college? Because I did and trust me: your scenario doesn't encompass 100% of students. Many *gasp* do not own a fucking car. Many *gasp* do not live off fucking campus. And many *gasp/wheeze/collapse* do not get their fucking permanent residence updated when they move away to college.

"your eligible to vote"

Again again again: no one is denying their eligibility to vote. Merely the location. I feel this is a key point that isn't getting through.

"No asshole republican can take that away from you"

I have some grave news for you then: most every town has rules on who counts as a resident when it comes to voting. Some of them dominated by republicans, some by democrats.

[jpak]

25. There I go? How Reaganesque

:rofl:

Voter suppression GOP Job 1

No ACORN or New Black Panthers required.

yup

[WatsonT]

28. 'There you go'

is owned by the Reagan estate?

I thought it was just an expression.

I guess you learn something every day.

Also: whose vote has been suppressed here? You're really not getting this huh?

[LiberalFighter]

29. Are those students paying taxes in that locality?

Do they have a drivers license for that state?
Where do they eat and sleep each day?
Are they paying for utility services? Phone service? Cable or satellite? Internet?

[jpak]

35. What taxes? Property taxes? If that's your eligibility to vote, then only the Landed Gentry can vo...

If you rent an apartment and the electric/phone/internet bill is in you roommate's name - are you a resident?

College or not?

Voter Suppression GOP Job 1

yup

[LiberalFighter]

37. Excuse me. Did I say property taxes?

How many of those students buy goods that has a sales tax?
How many of those students have a job either on campus or off campus and pay state income taxes?

[SoCalDem]

7. Is the population where you live, exactly the same forever and forever?

People move..all the time.

College students should only be able to vote once, but it should be where they LIVE. Where they receive their mail, where they work & spend their money. That is their home.

I have lived all over the place, but I always vote where I am living. I may not always live there, but when election time rolls around I vote there.

If states are too "askeerd" to have "furriners from other states" going to college in their state, then they need to close admissions to all but state residents...or to have local merchants be forbidden from accepting "out of state money" for products & services.:)

[WatsonT]

10. Did you update your permanent residence

when you moved away to college?

Many kids don't.

That affects how federal and state dollars are allocated.

If you're legally counted as living in one place but actually reside in another the place you left could be allocated more funds for fewer services and the place you're staying at now gets the opposite. One person doing this is meaningless. But on a mass scale it can pose a problem.

What if you're staying in a hotel in some other town on election day, can you vote there? What about 2 days, 3, a month . . . what's the cut off?

[jpak]

13. If they are a legal resident and a registered voter, they should vote - period

college or not

yup

[WatsonT]

16. Again:

a legal resident where?

And again again: no one is denying them the right to vote. Are you understanding that? Because it's an important point.

[jpak]

27. If you are a legal resident of a college town - no one should question your right to vote

Using GOP voter suppression logic - nursing home patients that have lost their drivers licenses due to poor eyesight and do not receive an electric bill are not "residents" and cannot vote.

fuck that

:thumbsdown:

[WatsonT]

30. You seem to be intentionally missing the point

Me: you should vote where your permanent residency is.
You: fuck that, you should be able to vote wherever you are a permanent resident (insert generic comment about the GOP).

[jpak]

36. No you miss the point

No one is allowed to vote in 2 locales - its called voter fraud.

But being a college student automatically nullifies your ability to establish residency and vote - according to GOP Voter Suppression Logic

yup

[WatsonT]

41. Wow

Just wow.

That is completely wrong.

The first part is right but the second isn't. I can see why your misunderstanding has you so incensed about this.

BTW: what's your opinion on 'voter suppression' of active duty military personnel? They vote in local elections at their place of residence rather than where they happen to be stationed (even within the US). Check it out: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/militarylaw1/a/homeofrecord.htm

[SoCalDem]

14. .

[WatsonT]

15. I don't know who that is.

[SoCalDem]

17. enjoy

http://trololololololololololo.com/

[WatsonT]

20. Weird

I expected it to be a screamer.

[Alcibiades]

22. I did

But I went to college at 22, and lived in the town where I went to school, so this would not have touched me.

Even so, we regularly hear that it's a problem for our democracy that young people don't vote, so why should we enact barriers to voting? We ought to be encouraging young folks to engage in the political process in constructive ways, not limiting suffrage.

Additionally, college students are part of the communities in which they reside. Some don't go home for the summer, some have no homes to go home to. Many do stay in the communities where they went to school. I live in Durham, and I have met dozens of people who moved here from out of state to attend Duke, liked it here, and stayed. That story is true in every college town across the country.

As far as funding goes, kids who leave home to attend school don't get services in their communities anyway, for the most part, and voter registration is not part of the formula for allocating funds anyway. That's done using Census data, a much better enumeration than voter registration statistics.

Permitting college kids to vote in college towns gives them a voice in local politics, politics that do touch the lives of students. Even if the individual student will leave, as you note, on the aggregate level the college or university will still be there, so I see no compelling reason to limit their suffrage.

Constituents have the power to choose their elected officials, not vice versa. That's what this bill is all about. If you're on the side of taking democracy seriously, then you ought to err on the side of allowing people voice, not limiting their input.

[WatsonT]

43. It's not really a barrier though

they can still vote. Nothing is stopping them. The location is the only thing in question.

You could just as easily state that this prevents them from voting wherever they consider to be their true home (you can't vote twice).

[Hello_Kitty]

12. So what? College students are affected by the politics of the community.

They live there most of the year under the state and local laws, pay taxes, and contribute to the economy.

[WatsonT]

42. So do active duty military members

they are members of the community, purchase items, often live off base, etc etc etc. They still vote at their permanent residence rather than where they are stationed.

It's really not as big an issue as it's being made out to be. But due to some phrasing there are folks now who believe this disenfranchises all college students forever.

[Hello_Kitty]

46. Not necessarily.

When I was in the Navy and stationed in Washington state I changed my residency and voted there.

I voted for Gary Locke for Governor!

[WatsonT]

47. Yeah

if you change your residency you can vote wherever. I believe this is about folks who live in one place but legally reside in another.

If your permanent legal address is in some town they cannot legally prevent you from voting there.

[LiberalFighter]

26. The impact of college students will be minimal except in local elections at best.

College students for the most part will not participate in local elections unless it is their home town. Even then at that young age their participation is likely to be lower than the more mature population. Events that might triggered more participation would be a major election such as 2008 or if a college student were to run for mayor or city council. Otherwise, I would venture to say that most of those that vote and their home town is elsewhere will vote absentee just as I did back in 1972.


% Out of State Students --- School --- Students Attend
17% University of Southern Maine (5113)
23% University of Maine at Farmington (2351)

14% University of Maine (11192)


Tell me how the out-of-state students at the largest university in Maine (University of Maine) can have much of an impact in the state of Maine with 1,566 out-of-state students? Even if all the college students in Maine that vote were to vote their impact would still be minimal.

Another factor is that students are entitled to representation wherever they live. And the right to vote gives them that entitlement.

If the cities with colleges don't like any type of impact of college students then they should tell the college to move someplace else. :sarcasm:

[LanternWaste]

34. As will most apartment complex dwellers.

"Those kids are going to be gone in 4 years generally..."

As will most apartment complex dwellers. :shrug:

[Hello_Kitty]

48. Much less than 4 years for most apt dwellers.

Unfortunately they're notorious not voting too. I've been saying for years that Dems need better ways to target renters.

[Erose999]

32. Can't have them college kids and other shiftless vagrants voting, no siree Bob.

[RedCloud]

33. Shades of Murray Plastic Prong, er Glasscock, the county clerk in Missouri.

Separate or entrapment questions are illegal in voter registration. We set him up and knocked him out.

He lost his case and we won a huge victory with the gummint apologizing and offering free shuttle rides to come on down and register to vote.

I liked how being denied the right to vote woke up a lot of people.

Glasscock was later caught giving oral sex to a youngster and was serving hard time last i heard. I guess he did not understand what serving the public actually meant.

[MindPilot]

39. What about military people?

They are generally young and transient too. Gonna tell a soldier he can't vote?

[WatsonT]

44. Yep, that's exactly what they do

At least by the standard being employed on this thread: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/militarylaw1/a/homeofrecord.htm

[ReggieVeggie]

45. great way to promote participatory democracy

must be that the out-of-towners aren't voting the right way