College-age voters cause registration changes, confusion

About 42 percent of Virginia's new voters this year are college-aged, according to the latest statistics from the state Board of Elections. In fact,  a whopping 50,000 new voters are 18 years old.

And that's forced some changes in voter registration procedures in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 6 registration deadline.

Norfolk election officials reluctantly have loosened procedures for registering college students to vote after protests from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign and an admonishment from state election officials.

The Democratic candidate’s campaign complained that the Norfolk registrar’s policy of sending a questionnaire to anyone applying to register from a college campus discouraged students from following through with the registration process. Those questions included whether the students pay out-of-state tuition, pay Virginia income taxes or have a Virginia driver’s license.

State law requires registrars to decide eligibility based on two components of residence: generally, where you actually live or your "official address."  For college students, that could mean their parents' home address, or the student's campus address.

Norfolk general registrar Elisa J. Long said the questionnaire had been used to determine domicile - or residence - and was based on suggested questions from the state elections office.

“The frustration is that the code says you may ask questions to help you make the determination of domicile, yet now we’re being told we cannot use a questionnaire,” Long said in a recent interview.

In response to the complaints, the State Board of Elections asked the Norfolk registrar to halt the questionnaires. 

But it wasn’t the first complaint this year about student registrations in Virginia.

Earlier this month, the state Board of Elections addressed the issue of student voter registrations after questions arose about a news release issued by the Montgomery County registrar incorrectly suggesting that Virginia Tech students could jeopardize their scholarships, car and health insurance if they registered to vote at their school address and not their parents’ address.

In response, the state board said it would modify and clarify the state guidelines on which the county had based its release.

The updated state information for college students is here:

www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/Voter_Information/Registering_to_Vote/College_Student.html

In two other college cities - Virginia Beach and Williamsburg - the registrars said they don’t differentiate between college students or anyone else who wants to register to vote. All are expected to understand the qualifications and ramifications of registering to vote in Virginia.

For more information about voting in Virginia go to: www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/Voter_Information/Index.html

North Carolina's guidelines for out-of-state college students are similar. The state board of elections Web site says that as long as an out-of-state college student intends to make a home of the community where they're physically attending school and has no plans to return home after graduation, an out-of-state student may register to vote in North Carolina.

For more information about voting in North Carolina go to: www.sboe.state.nc.us