RU students, registrar want defined student registration law

By Ashley Roberts
WSLS10 Reporter
Published: October 1, 2008

A local group wants more defined voter registration laws for college students.

Today, we spoke with Jenna Miller.

She’s a member of Radford University’s Fair Voter Registration Alliance.
   
The group formed after it says the local registrar rejected voter registration applications from students who listed their residence hall as their *permanent* legal residence. “We should be able to vote here and it just became a bigger deal than what I thought it was,“ said Miller.

Radford Registrar Tracy Howard tells WSLS that students can use their dorm address on their voter registration application as long as it’s their permanent residence.

*This means* once you register in Radford, you can no longer vote in your hometown and if your hometown is in another state…they need to contact that state for their absentee ballot,“ said Howard.

Every state has a different deadline for absentee voting. We did some checking and found that in Virginia, Tennessee and New Jersey the deadline to send in your application for absentee voting by mail is October 28th.
   
In West Virginia, your application must be received by October 29th.

Howard says the answer to clearing up the confusion completely is the general assembly passing a bill that clearly defines student residency. “Hopefully to say in very plain english that a student may choose their education community or their home community to register to vote and I think it needs to be that simple,“ added Howard.

It’s an issue Howard and Radford University’s Fair Voter Registration Alliance are working on *together.*