Court bars college dorm students from voting in Greenville, director says

[TexasTowelie]

If a college student who lives on campus at Clemson University wants to register to vote in Pickens County, they can just fill out a voter registration form and list their campus housing as their legal residence. Same with students at the University of South Carolina or the College of Charleston or any number of colleges in South Carolina.

But not in Greenville County.

If a college student who lives on campus at Furman University or Greenville Technical College or Bob Jones University or North Greenville University wants to register to vote in Greenville County, they’re more than likely out of luck.

That’s because those students must complete an 11-question form with answers that satisfy the county’s Board of Voter Registration and Elections. If they don’t return the form within 10 days, the board will reject their registration. If they don’t answer every question correctly with enough information to establish their residence in Greenville, the board will reject their registration.

Read more: http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/23/court-bars-college-dorm-students-voting-greenville-director-says/90936892/

[woodsprite]

1. Isn't that questionnaire the equivalent of a poll tax?

It's similar to the "literacy" test they used to give in the south.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2013/06/28/voting_rights_and_the_supreme_court_the_impossible_literacy_test_louisiana.html

[mtasselin]

2. Really

Really, when will voter suppression end? Who keeps voting for these knobs that are trying to dismantle our society, oh I know old rich white guys that don't want to lose the power that they have had for hundreds of years.

[OldRedneck]

3. What do you bet . . .

. . . the county electoral board is controlled by . . . are you ready for this? . . . controlled by REPUBLICANS?!?!?!?

[Gothmog]

4. They tried this in Waller County in Texas

This tactic is not legal

[awoke_in_2003]

7. And by the time it gets challenged in court

this election will be over.

[groundloop]

5. I'm surprised they didn't make an exception for Bob Jones University

Or maybe they're already working on that... It's a pretty safe bet those students are predominately ultra conservative.

This kind of stuff has got to stop. ALL Americans need to be given the means to vote without jumping through hoops.

[Historic NY]

6. Game show mentality, hope someone is challenging it.

[awoke_in_2003]

8. By the time it's heard

this election will be over.

[Gothmog]

9. North Carolina: Judge hears arguments in Furman student voter registration lawsuit | WSPA

This requirement is clearly unconstitutional http://thevotingnews.com/judge-hears-arguments-in-furman-student-voter-registration-lawsuit-wspa/

Students from Furman University will soon learn whether or not they can register to vote in Greenville County. Thursday, a judge heard arguments on a lawsuit claiming they were blocked from registering using their university address. “I hope that we will get a verdict quickly so we will be able to register as many people as possible in the next 36 hours,” said plaintiff, Katherine West. The clock ticks down on voter registration deadline, but for the Furman sophomore, she tried mailing in her Greenville County application more than a month ago. She says she was sent a questionnaire instead of her registration card. The list of questions is sent to inquiring college students is part of a long standing Greenville County election commission policy to determine if the student is a serious resident of the area. Now, it is at the center of a lawsuit filed against the state and the county election commissions.

“The board is unabashedly discriminating against students – residents of this county – who identify their address as on campus housing,” said the student’s attorney, Steve Buckingham.

Thursday, Buckingham argued for an injunction, effectively halting the county’s policy allowing them to register before time runs out.

… Judge Robin Stillwell vowed to make a decision quickly, considering the potential time crunch getting students registered. If the verdict goes the students’ way, it means any Greenville County college student will be able to register using their school address.