Comments on: Misinformation

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:42:29 +0000

Every state has different laws on voting, Scrat, but in general if you contact the local election office, which you should be able to find in the phone book, and tell them that you made a mistake on the form and you don’t attempt to cast a vote, they’ll probably just strike you from the rolls without penalty. Do it quickly, and absolutely don’t go near a ballot box.

If you let it ride and they find out about it, then there could be a problem, and if you attempt to vote, there will definitely be a problem.

By: scrat

scrat — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:02:16 +0000

what if i registered to vote today at school, but some of the information i put down may have been incorrect. i’m currently 17 and don’t turn 18 until november 21, and on the form i checked the box that said i will be 18 on or before election day. the lady that gave us the form didn’t inform us much on that, she just rushed through everything, and i didn’t really have time to read and think everything over. will this be a problem, or will this end up in a minor fine or something?

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:41:58 +0000

It was not nice, nor was it intended to be nice, and you can’t evade the reality that what they volunteers are doing can have a serious adverse effect on people’s taxes and the students’ scholarships.

When you alter someone’s legal residence there are consequences. When all you think about is a possible benefit to you and make no effort to investigate the possible consequences to the person, you are acting in a selfish and reckless manner.

If you are going to work with students, you have an obligation to know about students and their status. I taught at the college level and students live under different rules than the population at large. If you work with students you have to have to learn the rules of their environment.

The elections people in Montgomery County made the effort, but they were bad-mouthed for telling the truth.

I’m more than tired of people refusing to take responsibility for their actions.

By: Mahakal

Mahakal — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:41:23 +0000

Advising people to vote absentee rather than registering to vote in person is bad advice if you want to make sure their votes are counted. The US Supreme Court has ruled that students have the right to register at their college addresses, way back in 1979.

By: Mahakal

Mahakal — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:36:44 +0000

And it turns out that the IRS does not agree with your interpretation either. NY Times:

Late last month, as a voter-registration drive by supporters of Senator Barack Obama was signing up thousands of students at Virginia Tech, the local registrar of elections issued two releases incorrectly suggesting a range of dire possibilities for students who registered to vote at their college. The releases warned that such students could no longer be claimed as dependents on their parents’ tax returns, a statement the Internal Revenue Service says is incorrect, and could lose scholarships or coverage under their parents’ car and health insurance. After some inquiries from students and parents, and more pointed questions from civil rights lawyers, the state board of elections said Friday that it was “modifying and clarifying” the state guidelines on which the county registrar had based his releases.

By: Mahakal

Mahakal — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:46:55 +0000

Nice way to twist what I said, Bryan. Campaign volunteers are not expected to be competent to give tax advice to people or generally to be familiar with the internal revenue code. That doesn’t mean they don’t care, it means they aren’t trained and might give wrong advice in any particular case. Even the election officials tell people to consult their tax professional.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:21:42 +0000

For students, absentee voting is the best solution.

So, Mahakal, are you saying that Governor Palin was right, that community organizers and activists have no responsibility? Try being a person rather than a partisan. This will affect the student adversely and affect their parents. Someone needs to show they care and stop with the “Not My Job” cop out.

In this case, Steve, the voting officials are going above and beyond, but the “progressives” are only looking at scoring an advantage. This is not how you grow a party.

It’s the best solution for all concerned, Jill.

By: cookie jill

cookie jill — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:37:40 +0000

Easy solution…vote by mail. Keep registered at your parental unit’s home…have them send your ballot to where you are going to school.

Here in SB we mail out thousands of ballots to kids across the country and to folks visiting or living outside of the US.

By: Steve Bates

Steve Bates — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:09:22 +0000

I can confirm that what Badtux wrote was indeed true in the late 1970’s. My housemate/girlfriend at the time was, like me, a grad student at UH, but unlike me, she was “not from Texas” for purposes of determining tuition. Our tuitions differed vastly.

“You are responsible for determining your own residency. That’s not the job of some volunteer.” – Mahakal

Actually, in Harris County, TX, it’s the job of the county voter registrar’s office.

I’ve registered a few people in my day as a volunteer. We were specifically trained to do the following: if someone affirmed that s/he was a U.S. citizen and that the info on the application was true and correct, we were to submit the application promptly (mere days) to the voter registrar, who solely determined that person’s status as a qualified voter. It wasn’t the voter’s job to determine his or her residency. It wasn’t the volunteer’s job to determine residency, either. Only the county voter registrar could do that.

By: Mahakal

Mahakal — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:45:19 +0000

I think they are more likely to vote if they are registered to vote than not. And I don’t think that the person giving them a form to register is screwing them. You are responsible for determining your own residency. That’s not the job of some volunteer.