A vote for student voices

Of the handful of people who actually vote, the most apathetic demographic is the college student -- 18 to 24 years old. By sheer lack of will, it's almost impossible to get the youth voters to show up at their local polling station -- even just once every four years. \nNow the New Hampshire state legislature is discussing HB 1547, a bill which would entirely disenfranchise the few students who do vote. The bill is disguised as voting reform legislation under the presumption that felons, tourists and college students are being coerced into voting more than once at different polling stations, constituting voter fraud. \nSpecifically, the bill would grant residency status to "those living in hospitals, group homes and nursing homes," and deny it to those in "hotel rooms, jails and college dormitories," according to The Dartmouth, the student newspaper of Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. In effect, the bill would either force out-of-state students to vote in their home state by absentee ballot or deny them a vote entirely. \nThe bill's proponents argue that college students are temporary residents with temporary concerns. They claim that students are not bothered by the rise in taxes since few pay their own anyway, and that the voice of the permanent residents is marginalized. What these lawmakers fail to recognize is that students have certain static interests: bus routes, noise ordinances, parking and state funding for their college or university. These are not problems unique to any one college; they're indicative of any area in which large numbers of people live: "towns" or "cities," if you will. When it comes to local affairs, a vote on changing last call is what gets students riled up. \nBut the bill's supporters might have a much more sinister motivation for pushing it through the House: college towns tend to run a blue streak, even in overwhelmingly red parts of the country (take Bloomington as a prime example). By denying a statistical majority of Democrats the right to vote, the Republicans hope to tip the scales in their favor.\n"The general theme is that Republicans are trying to intimidate immigrants, people who don't speak English, college students and low-income people and keep them from voting," said Rep. Sharon Nordgren, D-Hanover. \nIn an attempt to hide the actual purpose of the bill, one supporter went so far as to flatter students everywhere with this little gem of reason: "It's hard to believe that all college students are Democrats," Republican Rep. Robert Introne said. "College students tend to be enlightened, open-minded, and they look at both sides before making their decision." \nIf college students are so enlightened, one would assume they'd make the right decisions when it comes to issues of public concern. If those decisions happen to be liberally progressive, well that's just very convenient. \nFortunately, all expectations are that the bill will fail in the state senate, or be vetoed by the governor, a Democrat. The lawmakers supporting this bill need to recognize that regardless of political affiliation, students are an integral part of any college community who have a right to voice their grievances.