University of Virginia Library

Protection Of Voting Rights
Taken To Court By ACLU

By PARKES BRITTAIN

The American Civil Liberties Union is
instituting a suit, on behalf of several
students in a number of Virginia colleges,
against the office of the registrar in order
to insure that no qualified students are
refused their right to register and vote.

Voting requirements stipulate that the
registrant must be at least 18 years old,
must have had a Virginia address for at
least six months, and must have had a
Charlottesville address for 30 days prior
to the election.

Claude Lauck, a second-year student,
said yesterday that the key word in this
stipulation is "address." Mr. Lauck commented
that there exist in Charlottesville various
criteria for establishing an address, and that
these criteria are often "arbitrary" decisions on
the part of the county and city registrars. As a

result, he said, many students have been refused
registration on the grounds that they are only
temporary residents of Charlottesville while in
attendance at the University.

The deadline for registration is now this
Saturday, October 2. The ACLU is attempting
to persuade the local boards to keep their
books open beyond that date because, they
maintain, many qualified students have been
refused registration.

Mr. Oksman said that the Voter Registration
Drive is trying to arrange transportation
facilities to the City Registrar in City Hall and
to the County Registrar in the County Office
Building.

Mr. Lauck also noted that under the
Virginia Code, no one should be prohibited
from voting solely because of his or her
residence at an institution of higher learning.
Tim Oksman, a third-year student, cautioned
that in-state students should contact the local
board before applying to their home town
boards for transfer applications. He noted that
in several instances students have applied for
transfer forms from their home boards, been
stricken from their books, and then refused
registration at the local board.

Out-of-State students who wish to transfer
their registration need only to follow the
regular registration procedure at the local
board, who will then notify the student's
previous board of the change.

A feasible solution to this situation, Mr.
Oksman said, is to request an absentee ballot
from the home board as soon as possible in
order to alleviate any future complications.

Mr. Oksman said that the upcoming
elections are "important" because they involve
a "clear-cut difference in ideologies." The
ballots will list candidates for lieutenant
governor, state senator, and two representatives
to the Virginia House of Delegates. In addition,
the county will elect a sheriff and a board of
supervisors.