Considering the high numbers of young people who will vote Kerry we really need to get them registered and early voting by mail or in person or to the polls on election day. There was some bruhaha in Tucson with Fox News telling UofA students that they could not register here, but as usual that was Fox BS. Below is the truth:
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Advice from County Recorder's Office
Snowbirds, out-of-state students may register in one state only
http://www.gvnews.com/articles/2004/09/22/news/top_stories/a03advice.txtBy Philip Franchine
TUCSON--Snowbirds and out-of-state students may register to vote in Arizona or in another state without fear of breaking the law, but may not register not in two states, Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez said.
The right to register was questioned recently in a KMSB-TV Fox 11 news report that said the county registrar believes out-of-state students "may have unintentionally committed a felony" by registering here and quotes him saying that students here only to attend school are not legally residents.
Rodriguez said that is not the case, that "the only exclusions for registering to vote are if you have been convicted of a felony and have not yet had your civil rights restored prior to registration, or if you have been judged legally incompetent."
"Snowbirds from Green Valley and out-of-state students are of different ages but in the same situations. They have to determine which state to register in. It is their choice. All I can tell them is they cannot be registered in two states," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez acknowledged that lying on a registration form is a crime, but said that since she took office in 1993 she has neither rejected a registration application nor penalized anyone seeking to register because of residency issues.
Rodriguez explains rules
"Any individual currently residing in Arizona who intends to remain for a period of time is eligible to register in Arizona and vote. If you are a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age on or before Nov. 2, 2004, and you live in Pima County 29 days prior to the general election, you are eligible to register to vote in this election," Rodriguez said in a press release issued on Friday.
"People moving into our community from out of state who meet the above criteria can register to vote in Pima County. The deadline to register to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 2, 2004 general election is Monday, Oct. 4, 2004," Rodriguez said.
The criteria for registration, and a printable form, are on the recorder's Web site at
http://www.recorder.co.pima.az.us/regvote.html.The release, sent to all media, was issued the day after the Green Valley News asked County Registrar Chris Roads to clarify statements attributed to him in the Fox 11 broadcast. Roads did not respond directly.
Interpretation is 'unfortunate'
Rodriguez said "it is unfortunate that the story aired on Fox 11 resulted in an incorrect interpretation of the comments made by my Registrar of Voters, Chris Roads, thereby generating much discontent among the students of this community."
The Fox 11 story by reporter Natalie Tejeda on Aug. 31 focused on a University of Arizona campus registration drive by the Network of Feminist Student Activists (NFSA).
Tejeda said in the broadcast "Several hundred students have registered to vote here over the past few days, but the Pima County Registrar of Voters believes many may have unintentionally committed a felony. What many don't realize is that legally, students from out of state aren't eligible to vote in Arizona because they're considered temporary residents."
Roads is then quoted saying, "If they are only here to attend school and their intention is to immediately return to where they came from when school is over then they are not residents of the state of Arizona for voting purposes and they cannot register to vote here."
TV station quoted Roads
Roads also was quoted by Fox citing a section of the state statute that defines resident. That section says "resident means an individual who has actual physical presence in this state, or for purposes of a political subdivision actual physical presence in the political subdivision, combined with an intent to remain."
After the broadcast, NFSA officers said they contacted the Pima County recorder and the Arizona secretary of state's office for clarification, concerned that "this inaccurate news report would scare students from the polls."
"Much to the students' dismay, these officials backed Fox's position," students said Kelly Kraus and Juliana Zuccaro said in an NSFA release.
Rodriguez told the Green Valley News on Friday the phrase "intent to remain" is "where everybody is getting hung up. How can you judge that? We have people who move to the community with the intent to stay and six months later get a better job offer somewhere else. If they reside here and believe they are residents here, then that is what counts."
Never rejected registrants
Rodriguez said in the release "over the past 12 years I have created and promoted the 'Just Vote' campaign and have never rejected, much less penalized, any individuals for registering to vote in Arizona."
"Since I took office in 1993, more than 783,000 voter registration forms have been processed by the Pima County recorder's office. More than 171,800 forms have been processed since Jan. 1, 2004. Not one of these forms has been rejected due to residency issues," the release said.
"One's intention to remain a resident is not defined by a specific length of time. Neither I nor any of my staff have ever challenged the intent of a voter's declaration of residency," the release said.
"Unfortunately, similar attempts to suppress the youth vote have been occurring across the country," Kraus and Zuccaro said.
A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article mentioned the UA flap and said election officials in numerous cities and counties have tried to bar college students from registering locally despite a 1979 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the right of college students to register at school.
In one case, the county prosecutor in Waller County, Texas, threatened to prosecute students at Prairie View A&M College for attempting to register, but after a federal lawsuit was filed he publicly apologized. In one case election officials required a two-page questionnaire not required of other voters, and others encouraged students to register at their parents' addresses, not at school.
pfranchine@gvnews.com | 625-5511 x 28
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