University of Virginia Library

Court Nullifies Extension
Of Student Registration

By LINDA EICHELBAUM

A three judge federal court ruled
Tuesday that 3,495 Virginia students,
including 106 locally registered voters,
are not eligible to vote in next week's
elections.

In voting to invalidate the one week
extension given to state college students
the court ruled that the case which was
instituted by the American Civil
Liberties Union was not a class action as
covered by federal laws. The opinion
stated that the action did not involve a class of
citizens because circumstances covering
registration vary with individual cases.

The three judges who sat on the decision
were Fourth Circuit Judge Albert V. Byran Sr.
and U.S. District Judges Richard B. Kellam and
Robert R. Mehrige.

The one dissenting opinion was from Judge
Mehrige who originally granted the extension of
a week for voter registration. He granted the
extension on the grounds that students were
unconstitutionally discriminated against by
voter registration rules.

Five plaintiffs remain in the suit brought by
the ACLU. One of them, Barbara Maynard, is a
graduate student at the University and has
already permanently registered.

The constitutional aspect of the question
was not ruled upon because the judges said that
the other four plaintiffs could seek relief from
the state by seeking to re-register. If they are
again denied registration, they can appeal to the
state courts before the election on Tuesday.

However, the court said that the plaintiffs
could return to the federal court if any federal
questions were again brought forward, thus
retaining jurisdiction over the matter in some
degree.

Judge Merhige said that the students
registering late should be able to vote
provisionally and their votes could be counted
or disregarded according to the outcome of the
constitutional issues involved.

He said in his dissenting opinion that he felt
it was "almost whimsical" for the other two
judges to require the plaintiffs to resort to state
processes that "for practical purposes of the
upcoming election are not available."

Robert Dwoskin, attorney cooperating with
the ACLU, said that the order will immediately
be appealed because of the internal
inconsistencies present in it.

The 106 students registered in
Charlottesville are ineligible to vote in the
elections. According to Charlotte Riddick, the
city registrar, 27 of the 50 students who
registered in the extra week of voter
registration were eligible to register previously.
In the county, 25 of 51 voters registering late
could have done so before.

A check of the 3,495 students throughout
the state showed that 2,019 were eligible to
vote if they had previously registered, Assistant
State Attorney General Anthony F. Trou said.

Mr. Troy said that the newly registered
students would remain on the registration
books and be allowed to vote in subsequent
elections.

Ordinarily, the registration books close a
month before the election.