1,000 Republican Students Denied Right to Vote

Generation GOP - Arkansas ^ | Oct. 22, 2002

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

1,000 Republican Students Denied Right to Vote

Posted Tuesday, October 22, 2002 | Email a Comment

Student Voter Rights Denied By Clark County Judge
Democrats to Blame for Disenfranchisement of Registered Voters

Arkadelphia, AR In what is perhaps one of the most egregious acts of voter disenfranchisement in Arkansas history, Judge John A. Thomas a Clark County circuit judge today issued a decision to prohibit registered students from voting who attend Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University. The decision comes after a complaint was filed by Floyd Thomas Curry, an Arkadelphia resident and the son of a local Democratic candidate.

"We are absolutely outraged by this decision that will leave hundreds of students without a place to vote and without a voice," said Bryant F. Adams, political director of Generation GOP and a leader in the Ouachita Baptist College Republican organization. "This will not stand - the students and the state will not let this stand."

Students at Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University along with Generation GOP registered over 1,000 new students to vote, the majority of whom were Republican and supported Party candidates. Unofficial polls at Ouachita Baptist University suggest that the student body of over 3,000 students is more than 80% Republican in leaning.

"This injunction against students was a calculated move to keep Republican youth from voting," said R. Stuart Jones, chairman of Generation GOP. "It is extremely important to get young people interested in voting and in the electoral process - denying them their right to vote is not a proper introduction to democracy."

Generation GOP is working with several allied organizations including the College Republicans, Teenage Republicans and Young Republicans to organize a rally against the disenfranchisement of legal voters at Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University.

 

[Republican Wildcat]

Well, never mind. It appears in some States you are absolutely right. I don't agree with it, but that is the case.

[mvpel]

I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the University of Michigan, which has nearly 40,000 students during the school year. This number, at various points in time, can represent up to 40% of the permanent population of the city, and thus nearly 35% of the eligible voters in the city (75% of the roughly 110,000 permanent residents are voting age).

I don't know about you, but the idea of a bunch of young people, with no permanent ties to the city, who will be gone by June, having a decisive role - by the sheer numbers of their votes - in determining the taxes, policies, and politicians that the rest of us will have to live with the rest of the year and even after their four years are up and they move away, doesn't sit well with me.

[Boiler Plate]

Well I went to Purdue and the student body outnumbered the population of West Lafayette. Nobody seemed to care.

[sweetliberty]

Arkansas requires ID too, but as we discovered yesterday, they are not too good at sticking to legitimate ID.

[Cold Heat]

The problem that I see with the judge's decision is that he ordered the roles purged of anyone from the college address. The point is, it was illegal to put them on the rolls in the first place.

How did that happen? Voters on a roll have to be assigned to a distict and given a polling place. If the address has no district or polling place then they should never have been placed on the rolls.

Also, I wonder if there are some year round residents, like caretakers etc.

I cannot see how he can purge without giving a legal remedy to those who may not be registered under another address previously.

This would in fact be disinfranchisement as it is to late to register now. Correct?

[CurlyDave]

the idea of a bunch of young people, with no permanent ties to the city, who will be gone by June, having a decisive role - by the sheer numbers of their votes - in determining the taxes, policies, and politicians that the rest of us will have to live with the rest of the year and even after their four years are up and they move away, doesn't sit well with me.

But on the other hand a homeless person who stumbled off the bus 30 days before the election and will be gone within a week has the right to vote and the DOJ will help him enforce it.

As your post admits, the college students are going to be there four years--this is longer than many renters.

You can always move...

[Cold Heat]

As your post admits, the college students are going to be there four years--this is longer than many renters.

Still, it is not a permanent address. I was not a resident of Ft. Campbell, Ft Leonard Wood, Ft. Belvoir or West germany for that matter.

A permanent address is a place where you have a home or pay taxes. Students who live off campus and pay property taxes in a district are not prohibited. Their legal right comes from the taxes paid through their rents and utilities.

[sweetliberty]

"the law is being unevenly applied because students who live off campus or on any other campus are not affected. Nine-month lease may vote even if their parents live in another state. Dorm student may not even if they are from that county."

Bingo! And that is the crux of the problem; not that it is or isn't legal but that the law isn't being applied equally.

[sweetliberty]

"GET THE ABSENTEE BALLOT!"

The problem is that they can't do that. Where are they going to get it? They are not registered in 2 locations. They are registered in Clark County. When they registered in Clark County they were purged from any previous county of registration. Clark County now refuses to allow them to vote there. The deadline to register anywhere in Arkansas passed on October 7. So they are screwed unless the decision is overturned.

[friendly]

The Corrupt Trial Lawyer Party, oops I meant Democrat Party, has been totally Clintonized. In other words the Democrat Party is nothing more than a criminal organization, engaged in every conceivable type of fraud, theft, and unethical activity. They stay in power only by a nationally coordinated campaign of systematic voter fraud.

The Democrats stand for nothing except treason, power, and illegal millions of dollars stolen by the leadership. Think of the millions taken by DNC head Terry McAulfee (insider trading of Global Crossings and many other crooked deals), the Clintons ("book advances," pardons for sale, & God knows what else), and the "Revrund" Jackson (extortion of major firms).

[sweetliberty]

" in most states all illegal aliens have to do to vote is get a driver's license."

And in some at least, they don't even have to do that.

[TheLion]

So the Democrats only purge Republicans from the rolls, eh?

[Cold Heat]

Dorm student may not even if they are from that county."

Sweet, if they were from that county they would have to sneak home and vote where they usually do. Believe me, I certainly would not want the 7,000 kids at UAM voting for local ordinances in our 9,000 person city. It would be a huge screwup. I see the reason for the law.

However I am concerned about the ruling. I don't see how he can screw with the rolls this close to the election. He could in fact disinfranchise a voter and that is really bad.

I suspect this ruling will be overturned and a new one issued, but the fact is that the law will stand.

[sweetliberty]

Did you catch that one of them is the governor's daughter who has been living and voting in that county and has served jury duty there? Even some of the Rats and the ACLU are outraged. How often is there ever agreement between them and conservatives?

[sweetliberty]

" I don't see how he can screw with the rolls this close to the election."

That, coupled with the fact that the law is not being equally applied is my concern. You can't have it both ways, but that is Rat style. I'm betting that the only reason that even the Rats in other parts of the state are hollering about this decision is because they DON'T want to see that law enforced statewide since MOST college students pad THEIR numbers and they realize that a handful of conservative students are irrelevant in the big picture.

[Cold Heat]

MOST college students pad THEIR numbers and they realize that a handful of conservative students are irrelevant in the big picture.

Exactly!

I'll bet the practice of quietly and illegally registering the kids at the college was going along just fine until 1,000 republican registrations hit the county clerks desk!

Must have been a shock to the system. Of this, I have no doubt!

[sweetliberty]

"where does he get the right to say who can or cannot vote"

From the DNC.

[sweetliberty]

In Georgia you used voter registration to establish residency. When I went to Georgia for college that was one of the first things I did. I did not want to have to pay out of state tuition any longer than necessary. You became a legal resident after 6 months.

[sweetliberty]

"I cannot see how he can purge without giving a legal remedy to those who may not be registered under another address previously.

This would in fact be disinfranchisement as it is to late to register now. Correct?"

That was exactly the point.

[Texas Mom]

No, this little ploy has been done on military installations too. Many times people have been denied the right to vote because they were military and dependants. Even though they were also taxpayers of the states where they were stationed. This is along the same line I believe.

My husband is retired military and we always registered to vote in his home district and then voted absentee. When we bought a home we registered where we lived. Military have to have a permanent home address and should never consider base housing a permanent home address. We were also allowed to keep his home state licence plates on our cars.. We filed out income taxes in his home state as well. It all changed only when we became home owners and changed his permanent home address to our new home. College students probably do the same thing. They should have registered at home and applied for an absentee ballot in time to vote. The dorm is not your permanent home.

Someone goofed big time by not explaining this to the students.