The New Hampshire State Senate will vote Wednesday on two bills that may lessen confusion for out-of-state college students who wish to vote in New Hampshire.
"The bills will make it much, much harder for people to intimidate college students and prevent them from voting," said Adam Patinkin '07, president of the College Democrats of New Hampshire.
The legislation, which passed the House of Representatives on March 21, clarifies laws that may deter students from voting in New Hampshire. Currently, students must change their domicile, defined as the place where an individual spends most nights of the year, to New Hampshire to be eligible to vote in the state.
Convoluted language in the law complicates the process of voter registration, which allows for intimidation and coercion at voting stations, as many Dartmouth students experienced in 2002. The voter registration form incorrectly states that students need to apply for a New Hampshire driver's license within 60 days of declaring New Hampshire as their domicile.
Town clerks have perpetuated this falsehood, denying students their right to vote in New Hampshire, according to Rep. David Pierce, D-Grafton, who authored the bills.
"I believe this was a campaign to intimidate students," Pierce said.
Last week, for example, University of New Hampshire student Joe Kiley was told that he could be committing perjury if he registered to vote without changing his driver's license. Kiley contacted Patinkin to try to combat the problem.
To clarify the election law, House Bill 133 eliminates this language from the registration form, while House Bill 132 further distinguishes domicile and legal residence.
On March 21, the state's House of Representatives passed House Bill 132 by a vote of 209 to 103, and House Bill 133 by 223 to 106. The Senate Election Law and Internal Affairs Committee passed the legislation by a vote of 3 to 1, approving it for the Senate.
"Our concern is that students intending to vote in New Hampshire can be discouraged from voting, and that is basically a type of disenfranchisement," Greg Boguslavsky '09, president of the Dartmouth College Republicans, said. "The main thing here is that we are not looking at this from a political perspective but from a logical perspective."
Sen. Joseph Kenney, R-Wakefield, said that the very lenient domicile law is problematic, creating a gray area that may not be clarified with the new legislation.
Republican senators are caucusing Tuesday to debate the legislation, according to Kenney.
"I don't think you want to influence the election because 20,000 college students want to vote here after living here for mere months - that is what one side is arguing," Kenney said. "College students are a force to be reckoned with elections in a small state."
The senate's election law committee labeled the two pieces of legislation as "ought to pass" for the floor vote on Wednesday. Pierce expects that New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch will not veto the bills that further distinguish domicile from residence.
