Fwd: Re: Student voter registration

[masinter at nova.edu]

ORC 3503.01(A) defines voter qualification on the basis of residence  
and registration, not domicile.  Perhaps the Ohio legislature should  
have conditioned registration on domicile, but at least as a matter of  
statutory text, it has not.  Here's the complete text of the voter  
qualification statute:

(A) Every citizen of the United States who is of the age of eighteen  
years or over and who has been a resident of the state thirty days  
immediately preceding the election at which the citizen offers to  
vote, is a resident of the county and precinct in which the citizen  
offers to vote, and has been registered to vote for thirty days, has  
the qualifications of an elector and may vote at all elections in the  
precinct in which the citizen resides.

ORC 3593.07 provides for registration in these terms:

Each person who will be of the age of eighteen years or more at the  
next ensuing November election, who is a citizen of the United States,  
and who, if he continues to reside in the precinct until the next  
election, will at that time have fulfilled all the requirements as to  
length of residence to qualify him as an elector shall, unless  
otherwise disqualified, be entitled to be registered as an elector in  
such precinct. When once registered, an elector shall not be required  
to register again unless his registration is canceled.

Neither statute speaks the language of domicile.

ORC 3503.02 empowers registrars to determine residence using language  
that suggests an understanding of residence that approaches domicile,  
but for whatever reason, the statutes that govern individuals who  
vote, ORC 3503.01, and individuals who register, ORC 3503.07, simply  
refer to residence.

Were I a legislator interested in writing a statute under which  
nondomiciliaries who registered to vote or voted committed the crime  
of "knowingly register[ing] or make[ing] application or attempt[ing]  
to register in a precinct in which the person is not a qualified  
voter", ORC 3599.11(A), I would think it prudent to write into the  
voter qualification statute, ORC 3503.01, and its counterpart  
registration statute, 3503.07, language more precise than either  
currently contains.

As an aside, Liberty University officials aggressively encouraged its  
very conservative and republican student body to register to vote in  
Virginia.   
http://www.liberty.edu/libertyjournal/index.cfm?PID=15758&ArtID=431  
and  
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/30/conservative.liberty.university/

I don't think Liberty University officials committed a crime either,  
and I see no reason for outrage. We should be pleased to see students  
of all political persuasions engaged in the process of self government.

Michael R. Masinter
Professor of Law
Nova Southeastern University
Shepard Broad Law Center (on leave 2008-2009)
masinter at nova.edu
Visiting Profesor of Law
University of Miami Law School (2008-2009)

Quoting earl maltz <emaltz at camden.rutgers.edu>:

> Upon rereading Richard Paschal's post, I believe that I have misstated the
> position of the Brennan Center.  I apologize.  However, the basic point
> remains--driver's license does not necessarily equal domicile.