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Published: October 25, 2009
Writer: College students have right to vote locally
In her Oct. 15 letter to the editor, Elizabeth M. Austin raised some common themes that have been used for years to deny a group of individuals — college students — the right to vote. She specifically mentions the payment of vehicle registration taxes. The problem is the 24th Amendment prohibits Congress and the states from establishing the payment of a tax as a prerequisite to vote. Furthermore, in 1966 the Supreme Court, in Harper vs. Virginia Board of Elections, declared that all state poll taxes were unconstitutional. These actions by our government were specifically designed to allow “representation without taxation.”
Until recently, the college student population has been “taxed without representation” due to the fact they pay sales taxes and are counted in the city census, but yet they were prohibited from casting a vote. This is significant because several federal and state funding sources to localities are based in part upon population. In addition, the boundaries of Lynchburg’s four wards are also impacted by census numbers.
Does just paying taxes in a locality automatically grant one the right to vote? No, of course not! However, the change in the law now grants college students the right to vote in the city or town in which they register.
Lynchburg is facing a challenge found in all college towns — the integration of “town and gown.” So why should the city embrace the college voter and the educational industry? Lynchburg has been blessed with several quality institutions of higher education, and the city should do more to utilize the resources and core competencies of these entities.
A good example of these institutions forming a partnership that transcends politics and philosophical differences to make a difference in the community is the Wimax technological joint venture by Liberty University and the Virginia School of the Arts. Another piece of low-hanging fruit is mass transit. Liberty’s partnership with GLTC has cut approximately 577,000 miles driven on Lynchburg roads and resulted in a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. This partnership could be leveraged to include all the institutions of higher education and make an even bigger impact on the local road system and environment. Many additional common goals and opportunities exist, if we as a community, realize the value college students and their respective institutions bring to Lynchburg.
Conspiracy theories of takeovers are nothing more than the fear of the unknown. Local politicians will still get elected the same way. In fact, Del. Shannon Valentine has been campaigning at LU as well as Scott Garrett. Two items that have a direct impact on students are local ordinances that increase the cost of business for their institution (which in turn impact tuition rates) and the local sales tax rate. Now, with the change in the law, college students will finally have their voices heard.
The bottom line is the needs of this new group will have to be addressed by those running for office along with all the other groups of voters.
LEE BEAUMONT
Lynchburg
Editor’s Note: Beaumont is director of auxiliary services for Liberty University.
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Reader Reactions
Please replace “everything” with “every” in my last post. Thanks.
jedi,
I am not sure I would want to be allied with the Americans who lost everything single war (since WWII) where they met a “real” enemy.
Their two greatest (and only) victories were Grenada and Panama!
And they have been now in Afghanistan for 8 years (longer than WWI and WWII COMBINED) and it is fast turning into a quagmire. Pundits are now talking about staying there 50 or even 100 years.
Wow! I am impressed.
The sole purpose of the American military is to sustain the military-industrial complex. If that came to a stop, the whole American economy would collapse.
C.S. - One relevant fact you seem unaware of is that Faber was a joke college in a comedy. Your “facts” are imaginary, as is your ability to draw conclusions.
Yes, I suppose so. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat so the saying goes.
GOP2009 - We have a common opinion, arrived at from opposing points of view. An interesting situation, no?
Jedi - one follow up comment. Your statement about the college comparison shows your limited ability to draw conclusions.
If you remember all the graduates of Faber went on to great careers (except Neidimeider) so that would indicate that Faber was in fact a decent academic institution.
Therefore, your conclusions are not supported by the facts.
Interesting choice of words Jedi. As a former military man I can tell you picking your allies is very important. If there is going to be a battle do you really want to be allied with the French?
jedi,
Several weeks ago, I had written a post about the groups that had it much better under Saddam that now. And then I erased it by mistake. I did not have the courage to start all over again!
But from memory I can say that Iraq was a much more secular country than it is now, a very good thing in my book (no, not the Holy one!). Women, Catholics, gays, amongst others, had a better life then. And probably the whole population even though it did not have the “freedom” so touted by Randolph.
Just went around the traffic circle a few minutes ago, going back home.
And now going to bed.
Jedi to quote Dean Wormer - Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son.
I still maintain my stance on this issue. Mr. Beumont has gone off on the poll tax, and anybody with a seventh grade education learned why the poll tax existed and who it was geared toward. It had nothing to do with transient college students.
My point is, if you own or lease off-campus housing in the City of Lynchburg, the argument can be me made that you call Lynchburg your legal residence. If you are living in student housing (i.e. dormatories or other housing that is made available to you by a local college only on the condition that you are a full-time student at that local college), you are probably not a legal resident of Lynchburg. Of course,if you are a local resident that chooses to use college owned housing, you are a legal resident of Lynchburg eligible to vote in the elections here. If students at Randolph Macon living in dormatories were registering en masse to vote in the Council spring election, I think there would be an uproar here.
College owned housing is not something that is available to the general public to lease. It requires that the tenant be registered as a full time student at that school. I couldn’t lease it for myself.
This has nothing to do with whether you pay sales taxes here or not. Anybody that passes through town on Saturday night and stops at Sheetz to get a Coke pays sales taxes in Lynchburg. I do believe if you happen to own a car while you are attending a college here and said vehicle is registered in another locality and taxes are being paid to that locality or the tags are registered in another state, that would be a good litmus test for further questionning of the voter applicant. It wouldn’t necessarily rule that applicant out as a resident of Lynchburg, but it would be a cause to question someone’s intent.
Falwell Jr. has made it clear what his intent is. It is for the students of his school - mostly people that have no intention of staying in Lynchburg beyond graduation - to determine the govermental makeup of the City in the spring elections. He has made no secret of that, and I applaud his honesty. Hopefully, if his voter bloc is responsible for putting people that have the entire City’s interests at heart into office, these will be good effective leaders. However, people with a single issue agendas seldom make good leaders. I just hope these students will let their conscience be their guide when they register to vote. If they truly regard themselves as permanent residents of Lynchburg, welcome aboard. If not…
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