@Massmomm My D had no problems registering to vote in Ohio in 2012 at Oberlin. It was worth it to her given that Ohio is a swing state and ours is a pretty safe blue state.
@massmomm I see nothing about parents’ address on the form or on the Campus Vote Project
http://campusvoteproject.org/ohio/
registration form: http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/elections/forms/4010.pdf
Can a new college graduate working in state W still vote in home state H? I certainly can phone our local BOE to find out but the answer might be obvious to some of you (not to me though).
The voter needs to meet the requirements of residency to vote, in the new or old state. If new grad is living temporarily in another state but still considers herself a resident of home state (for taxes, drivers license, etc)then she may still meet the requirements.
The Federal Appeals Court apparently has no time to consider any appeal before November 8, so it looks like I’m in the clear.
@twoinanddone, I’ll be living in an on-campus apartment this year (dorms are freshman-only at my school).
@qialah that’s the same with me; my vote would make much more of a difference in a battleground state like North Carolina rather than my already-blue home state of New Jersey. Plus, I sorta want to disconnect myself from NJ if I’m being honest…
http://www.electoral-vote.com/#item-4 suggests that an en banc appeal is another possibility with respect to the decision on North Carolina’s voting law change. If you want to be sure, have your US passport ready.
I’ll get my passport ready regardless, but why can’t they just leave it alone, for crying out loud?? -___-
dorm or apartment owned by the university - you still have to prove that it is your home when you go to register. This isn’t different from the old law or the new, just the picture ID requirement that is quashed. You’ll need something acceptable to show you live in NC, at your address. That can be a lease, utility bill, bank statement. You’ll need something to establish your address. A letter from your mom won’t do it.
Looking at the site @ucbalumnus posted for IDs, I don’t see how my son could possibly come up with an accepted ID for voting in Ohio. He doesn’t get bank statements there, doesn’t have a DL issued by Ohio, doesn’t get utility bills, etc. As much as we’d love to see Hillary win this election, I don’t see a way for him to register honestly in OH.
And while you could sort of say that Oberlin is my son’s “principal home” for the three remaining years there, all of his documentation (paycheck stubs, health insurance card, etc.) strongly say he lives in MA.
@massmomm does your son work in OH? You could request a paper paycheck sent to wherever he’s living in OH and that would seem to satisfy the requirements.
Re: #13 - It is very commonplace for students to vote where they feel it will count more. Be sure that she is aware of deadlines, precise addresses for her residence and polling place (some dorms might technically be in a separate precinct from others), etc. “Red” states try to suppress student voting in any way they can, overall (with a few exceptions made for conservative, oftentimes religious, colleges), and so she can expect to encounter some obstacles. The right to vote where you attend college was enshrined by a SCOTUS ruling in 1979. Plenty of groups will sponsor voter registration events at orientation. Be sure that it’s a credible organization, because there have been scams occasionally.
Re #48
It is likely that the rules in question were made to make it difficult for college students to vote, for partisan reasons.
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/elections/forms/11-A.pdf makes it look like one can get an absentee ballot in Ohio with the last four digits of one’s social security number.
Otherwise, why can’t he get a bank account with statement address at his college location, or an Ohio driver’s license? Fully online bank accounts produce online bank statements that can be printed out. (Some such bank accounts have no minimum balance and no fees.)
Yes, Ohio seems to be deliberately trying to make it difficult for college students to vote. The best way to protest its policy is to vote there.
The presidential race is not the only on the ballot. There are senate races and house races that may ‘really need your college student’s vote’ in the home state. He may want to vote for his old English teacher who is running for the school board. He may just want to be a Bay Stater and not an Ohioan. All of us can’t be so lucky as to live in a purple state and have our votes matter more than those who are solidly blue or red. Think of the dog catcher races and judge retention issues or mayor of the city. All important to those running.
Sometimes it is a little harder to comply with the requirements. Have the bank statement sent to the college address. Go get a local driver’s license (if you really are becoming a resident of the college state). Can you imagine a voting system where everyone just says “I live over there. Believe me.”
It is not only college students who have to choose where their primary residence is. Many Snowbirds have two homes but can only vote in one state. There are those who have summer homes in different states who have chosen to be a voting resident of the second home because local issues of taxes and assessments are important to them. There are many Florida/NY dual residents, and they have to pick. If they aren’t in Florida in Nov but want to be Florida voters, they have to get absentee ballots. Military families have to pick a state.
Here is another table of different voter ID laws by state:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id.aspx
Note that absentee ballot voting may differ, and may be more lenient, so that college students who find the in-person voter ID requirements too difficult may want to look into absentee ballot requirements.
http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx
https://www.usvotefoundation.org/vote/state-elections/state-election-dates-deadlines.htm
Some places don’t count absentee ballots until after the election. It may cause a change in tight local elections, but unlikely to cause a change in the presidential election which was ‘called’ a week or more before. Some states have early voting, which is different. They use the same voting methods as are used in the voting places and just count what has been cast with the election day machines.
Lots of states do not require showing ID to vote in person.
Of course, showing ID when sending an absentee ballot can be impractical.
Also, many of the kinds of ID allowed by states that require voters to show ID do not require citizenship (e.g. driver’s licenses, non-driver state IDs, etc.), and may not necessarily prove identity (utility bills, bank statements, etc.).
Just wanted to add this: even if an appeal is considered, nothing would change before 8 November anyways. Supreme Court Justices (rightly) feel that too many rule changes before an impending election really messes things up.
@romanigypsyeyes, he works in his home state. He is registered to vote here as well.
I don’t think any state allows you to register and vote without ANY type of check as to residency. Many do not require an official picture ID, but do require something like a utility bill, or you register and they send you a voter’s card. The secretary of state or registrar has a check system. Even the homeless population has some type of system to show that they live in the precinct and have for at least 30 days before the election. Many register at a shelter or church and use that as an address, and the registrar can confirm that church or shelter is the ‘address’ of the voter.
Here, if you vote absentee, you have to make a copy of your ID to include with your ballot, and have to sign the envelope after it is sealed. The absentee ballots are linked to a local address even if sent to an OOS one. Many absentee ballots are voided because the voter doesn’t follow the directions and the clerk can’t confirm that the vote is by a resident.