A bill that would have simplified voter registration for Virginia college students was voted down in a House of Delegates subcommittee Friday afternoon.
Sen. Ralph Smith, R-Botetourt, introduced the bill, SB 829, to let students choose where they would register to vote, either in their home districts or at school.
Aide David Suetterlein said Smith sponsored the bill because he felt “the courts have been clear about student’s right to vote.”
In 1993, the Virginia General Assembly passed a joint resolution assessing the need for a clarification of voter registration laws, especially for student voters. Today, clarification of a college student’s ‘domicile’ for voting is still a heated issue.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia recently accused Registrar Tracy Howard of blocking Radford students from voting, as his office did not register students with impermanent addresses listed on their voter application forms for last November’s elections.
Howard said he felt he was being singled out when he just tried to follow the law. Thus, he said he approached Sen. Smith about introducing a bill to clarify the law.
“I felt we needed a registration laws that would benefit both student voters and administrators in charge of their registration.”
The bill passed unanimously in the Senate but was killed in a House subcommittee, Howard said.
As of now, the law still stands as it did before the 1993 resolution, stating that a resident must have a permanent address to register to vote.
The Student Voter Registration Coalition gives University students the option of using either their current or home address, said Bruce Vlk, deputy director of programs at the Center for Politics. Furthermore, he said he believed the Charlottesville and Albemarle registrars did not mind impermanent addresses, for the most part.
He added, however, that he thought the laws were in need of clarification, as the definition of a domicile is often contested.
A representative aide for Smith said the State Board of Elections has switched its definition several times. At one time the Board said a domicile was simply where one slept but now it implies a permanent residence.
The difference between the definitions of “domicile” can have real political repercussions because most college students traditionally vote Democratic, Howard said. A Republican administration could have motivation to impose a stricter definition of domicile, such as making it dependent on where a voter pays taxes. This would make it harder for students to vote.
Because the governor handpicks the members of that Board, “voter registration policy has a partisan charge,” Howard said.
Smith’s bill would have taken the ambiguous responsibilities of the State Board of Elections and solidified them in the Virginia General Assembly.
His aide added that “the point of the bill was to clarify the problems that the General Assembly recognized in 1993.”
Despite the confusing state laws, Vlk said he believes that overall, Charlottesville has relatively few problems with student voter registration compared to other localities.
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