Stump Lane

This guy walks into a bar… only it isn’t a guy, it’s a State Representative, and it isn’t a bar, it’s the State House. Anyway, he doesn’t think college students should be able to vote where they reside:

… College students who claim [what, no “scare quotes”?] residency in Maine but spend summers or holidays in other states pose a threat to full-time residents, Knight said.

“What it does is disenfranchise Maine voters who are paying their taxes,” he said. “I want these kids to become part of the political process. But I don’t want them to determine who our governor is, and then head back to California or Michigan, or wherever they’re from.” [Kennebec Journal: College Dems protest plan to halt voting]

Uhhhh… Paying taxes is not requisite for voting. Stop measuring things in money, people! College students, especially ones attending the state universities and community colleges are stakeholders and should be allowed to vote on those-who-decide-how-much-they-will-pay-to-go-to-college here. Note to money-measurers: though it isn’t ‘paying taxes’ it is ‘paying tuition’ to the state.

Also, if I am not mistaken — correct me if I’m wrong [edit: I am partially wrong, see update below.] — when someone resides in a place 223 out of 365 days— more for students who keep off-campus apartments over winter break —which is more than half the year, then they become a legal resident and they aren’t just “claiming” residency. (There’s the scare quotes!)

Knight also accused Maine college students of committing large-scale voter fraud by casting absentee ballots while also voting in Maine elections.

“They laugh about it, it’s a joke,” Knight said. “They can overwhelm a community.”

Knight also said that he had no evidence to substantiate these allegations. [Emphasis added.]

The bolded part says it all, doesn’t it? Most of it, anyway.

Holy Fucking Shit. Anybody can really say anything they want to in today’s world, can’t they.

That’s egregious!

Disclosure: the Author may have once voted for Governor based solely on an unequivocal promise that the state budget was fine and there would absolutely be no need to raise tuition rates at the state universities and colleges, only to face a tuition increase immediately upon said Governor’s election. (Hey, that guy was saying anything he wanted to back then!) That was egregious!

UPDATE: As self-punishment for going off half-cocked earlier, the State of Maine residency requirements for student voter registration are now below the fold. As I read it, it looks like students living on-campus— who haven’t established residency in, say, an apartment —are already not considered legal residents for voting purposes. Which takes some of the wind out of that part of my argument. But, I will note that the determination is left to the municipality where the person is attempting to register; and I remember being allowed to vote in the town where I was living on campus, rather than my home town.

On the other hand, if you read the residency part of the tax code, (also included below the fold,) if the person earns income in Maine, regardless of residency, they must pay Maine taxes! Which kinda buggers that part of Knight’s argument as well. Read more…