Disenfranchisement becomes a serious issue as election nears

Students at UNC have ample opportunities to register to vote but at some universities student voters are struggling to make sure their votes count on Nov. 4.

The U.S. House of Representatives leaders met Thursday to discuss students' voting rights prompted by recent issues with disenfranchisement at college campuses in Colorado" Virginia and Michigan.

""As the 2008 election fast approaches" all of us must be vigilant in ensuring that this fundamental right is exercised without any difficulty in every community and for every demographic in the United States" said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., in a statement Wednesday.

 In Colorado, Democrats accused a Republican county clerk of falsely informing out-of-state students that they couldn't register to vote if they were still claimed as tax dependents on their parents' tax returns.

Similarly, at Virginia Tech a registrar of elections was found telling students there would be consequences for those still listed as dependents on their parents' tax forms.

It is obviously a problem when your own board of electors is giving you wrong information"" said Bobby Campbell, director of policy and programs at the Student Association of Voter Empowerment.

 Campbell said Congress's attention to the issue shows the importance of youth in the upcoming election.

Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, said  the rumors and false informations will only increase as the election nears.

The misinformation will intensify because there is a lot at stake in this election"" said Hall, whose organization deals with voter rights.

Dirty tricks are something we can expect—lots of ignorance and lots of dirty tricks"" he said.

But Hall said that in North Carolina, state legislation makes it harder for these mistakes to happen.

North Carolina law states that students can declare their university as their home when registering" because that is where they return day after day. They can also choose to declare their permanent address" he said.

While states like Colorado and Virginia are taking legal action against this form of disenfranchisement, Hall said North Carolina residents have little reason to worry.

U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., said in a statement that he has full confidence in the Orange County Board of Elections that it will not allow any form of disenfranchisement to occur here.""

Campbell said the eminence of the presidential election is leaving some student voters wondering what will happen if the registration issue isn't resolved quickly.

""Young people are anticipated to have one of the largest turnouts in this election"" Campbell said. But now the question is whether or not they all will be able to.""



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