New Hampshire's State Senate passed two student voting bills yesterday, clarifying that out-of-state students have the right to vote in New Hampshire elections. House Bills 132 and 133 passed along party lines, 14 Democrats to 10 Republicans.
It is now clear that if students have proof of "domicile" in New Hampshire, which the Office of Residential Life provides, they can register to vote in the state.
Pamphlets circulated in student residential halls before the 2004 election told students that changing their "legal address" - their domicile - to New Hampshire could affect health insurance, car insurance, income taxes and local scholarship money.
Sen. Peter Burling, D-Cornish, whose district includes Hanover, called these tactics "false information" that are a "form of intimidation."
In addition, information on the New Hampshire voter registration form says that students must register their motor vehicle and obtain a driver's license in the state.
The legislation passed by the Senate yesterday eliminates this misleading information from the voter registration form and clearly lays out the requirements of domicile for voting purposes in New Hampshire law, pending Gov. John Lynch's signing of these bills. The only requirement: sleeping in New Hampshire for more nights during the year than not.
"We just tore down some barricades to the democratic process," Burling said.
Republicans argue that the loose definition of domicile opens the door to influence by non-residents of New Hampshire, according to Sen. Joseph Kenney, R-Wakefield.
"The domicile revision allows anybody to settle down for a few months and then vote in the election," Kenney said. "I personally believe that you should be a resident of New Hampshire to vote in New Hampshire."
Adam Patinkin, the President of the College Democrats of New Hampshire, and Rahul Sangwan, Vice Chairman of the College Republicans of New Hampshire, have both supported these bills.
"Everybody thinks that there isn't much sense for us to support the bill," Sangwan said. "But this is above partisan politics."
Patinkin echoed Sangwan's nonpartisan approach, saying that the main focus here is to uphold the "law of the land."
"I'm here for four years and the government should not take my right to vote here away from me," Patinkin said. "College students have a vested interest in New Hampshire: We are fully liable and responsible for following New Hampshire laws."
Burling, who also serves as chairman of the Election Law and Internal Affairs Committee, acknowledges that the definition of domicile is ambiguous.
A 1979 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled that students can vote where they go to college if they establish residency there. The court, however, leaves the requirements of residency to each state's discretion. The New Hampshire Bar Association defines domicile as the place where you live and intend to live "for an indefinite period of time."
In the 2002 elections, lawyers dispatched to polling stations in the Hanover area challenged students' proofs of residency.
Those challenged had to swear New Hampshire was their domicile in a signed affidavit.
Vote Clamantis in Deserto, a nonpartisan continuous voter registration drive sponsored by the Rockefeller Center, tries to help students with voter registration issues.
"I would like to see more students participating in the political process," Tyler Frisbee '08, president of Vote Clamantis, said. "For most students, I think that institutional barriers rather than apathy keep them from voting."
