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Task force urges lower barrier for college kids registering to vote
New voter residency rules approved by the State Board of Elections are aimed at settling an election season issue that often involves college students.
The rules approved Saturday would allow college students to register to vote at their campus addresses. The rules say a person's primary home is the physical place where he or she lives, and is considered to be the center of a person's "domestic, social and civil life."
In previous election cycles, conflicting opinions were issued by local registrars across the state on the use of dorm addresses as permanent residences by student voters.
Students' registering to vote with their campus addresses became controversial locally after Liberty University registered 4,200 students to vote ahead of the 2008 presidential election.
Previously, a registrar could consider several factors in determining an individual’s domicile, but the General Assembly amended the state code this year and directed the Board of Elections to issue statewide guidelines.
The U.S. Department of Justice must approve the new rules before they can be implemented.
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