BOISE, Idaho
Idaho college students face some of the toughest restrictions in the nation when trying to register to vote at their college addresses, according to a national study.
Idaho admonishes students they can register at their college address only if they plan to stay in the state permanently, the Spokesman-Review reported. Officials at New York University Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice said this interpretation of the law, similar to practices in Tennessee, could be unconstitutional.
Often seen as only marginally politically active, college students could make a difference in close elections if they go to the polls. But their impact will remain muted if they don’t vote due to rules that some deem overly restrictive, Brennan Center officials said.
“Many students are in a situation where they don’t know where they’re going after school — for all intents and purposes, this is their only residence,” said Wendy Weiser, director of voting rights and elections at the Brennan Center. “To say that you actually have to have a definite plan to remain in Idaho means that all the people who haven’t determined what their future plans are, are for all intents and purposes disenfranchised.”
Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa said Idaho’s laws governing residency for voting purposes don’t differentiate between students and nonstudents. According to his office’s Web site, students should not be registering and voting in their college locales simply because they failed to register in their true domicile.
“There are limits, and we stand by what we have put out in writing on how you define residency,” Ysursa said, adding he’s received few complaints. “Is there 100 percent clarity on residency law? No. There are factors that you have to figure in, but there are factors for everyone, not just for students.”
