I was pleased to see your
editorial encouraging students to
register to vote. However, it is
distressing that the Cavalier Daily is
setting even more stringent
registration requirements than the
Attorney General. A student, like
any other citizen, need not have
"lived in town all last year." The
Commonwealth merely requires
that a person shall have lived in the
state six months prior to an
election and in his/her precinct for
30 days prior to the election. In
addition, it should be obvious that
no one need have a car locally
registered or have "paid city taxes"
in order to register: the right to
vote is not a function of ones
financial position, as the courts
decided when they threw out the
poll tax laws.
It is precisely those special
criteria for students-sent out to
local registrars by the Attorney
General and repeated by
you — which the ACLU is
challenging. Why should it matter
that a student is supported by
his/her parents when many a forty
year old dilettante living on a rich
inheritance may unquestionably
cast his ballot? And what earthly
difference can it make that a
student spends his/her Christmas
vacation with his/her parents? I dare
say the Attorney General himself
has done this on occasion. The
ACLU's case on behalf of several
Virginia college students (including
this aging taxpayer) claims (1) that it
is unconstitutional for students to
be singled out as a special group to
which more stringent registration
requirements are applied, and (2)
that the Attorney General's criteria
when applied to anyone are
unconstitutional. Judge Merhige's
ruling on Friday means that the
registration books must be kept
open for one extra week precisely
so that students who might have
been denied the right to vote
register because they lived in the
dorms or paid out-of-state tuition
fees or went home for Christmas
may have the opportunity to
register.
I therefore urge everyone who is
over 18, has lived in Virginia since
May 1, 1971, and at his/her
residence to go register. Students
living on the Grounds, incidentally,
are considered county residents
while those living off the grounds
should register with the city
registrar.
