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Friday, March 20, 2009
Tweet Charity
Kevin Bondelli, who blogs on the youth vote at KevinBondelli.com, cross-posted on BlueNC yesterday a tweet he noticed on the Western NC GOP twitter page:
Ah yes, contempt of the young springs perennial in many Republican circles, particularly in western North Carolina where there's a major university.
So, this is why the youth vote went to Obama ... because they're a bunch of easily led, useful idiots. Makes sense. http://bit.ly/b6Jm
Ah yes, contempt of the young springs perennial in many Republican circles, particularly in western North Carolina where there's a major university.
Labels: Barack Obama, North Carolina Republican Party, youth vote
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Disenfranchising Students in Virginia
Some North Carolina wag in the 19th century, familiar with the sometimes inherent snobbery of both Virginia and South Carolina, referred to our state as "a vale of humility between two mountains of conceit."
In Virginia's case, 134 county voter registrars know exactly what sort of people should be allowed to vote. College students very often do not pass the test. In a state with 161 colleges and 483,159 students, the conceit of the registrars is patently unconstitutional.
We had already heard about the Montgomery County registrar, Randall Wertz, who issued official warnings to Virginia Tech students in Blacksburg that, by registering, "you have declared your independence from your parents and can no longer be claimed as a dependent on their income tax filings .... If you have a scholarship attached to your former residence, you could lose this funding." The first statement is just an outright lie: the right to vote has absolutely nothing to do with being a dependent on your parents' IRS forms, and the second statement seems to give away its own falsity with that strategically placed verb "could." You could also learn to fly off the roof of your dorm.
Worse is Juanita Pitchford, the registrar for Fredericksburg, where the University of Mary Washington is located. Pitchford, the most blueblood of Virginia registrars, requires that all students interview with her before registering, "so she can decide on a case-by-case basis whether they can vote."
Are you kidding me? No, evidently not. Reminds us of the situation in Boone 40 years ago, when virtually the only bank writing mortgages for houses required an interview with a bank officer whose first question probed which church you were a member of.
The Supreme Court in 1979 settled the issue of student registration and voting rights. A college student may register and vote where he/she is in school, even if the place of residence is a dorm with Green Day blasting out of every room.
Students in North Carolina, thank God, are not being harassed like students in Virginia. That will change if Pat McCrory is elected governor and the Republican Party takes over control of our 100 county boards of election. There will be little or no accommodation of students.
You betcha.
In Virginia's case, 134 county voter registrars know exactly what sort of people should be allowed to vote. College students very often do not pass the test. In a state with 161 colleges and 483,159 students, the conceit of the registrars is patently unconstitutional.
We had already heard about the Montgomery County registrar, Randall Wertz, who issued official warnings to Virginia Tech students in Blacksburg that, by registering, "you have declared your independence from your parents and can no longer be claimed as a dependent on their income tax filings .... If you have a scholarship attached to your former residence, you could lose this funding." The first statement is just an outright lie: the right to vote has absolutely nothing to do with being a dependent on your parents' IRS forms, and the second statement seems to give away its own falsity with that strategically placed verb "could." You could also learn to fly off the roof of your dorm.
Worse is Juanita Pitchford, the registrar for Fredericksburg, where the University of Mary Washington is located. Pitchford, the most blueblood of Virginia registrars, requires that all students interview with her before registering, "so she can decide on a case-by-case basis whether they can vote."
Are you kidding me? No, evidently not. Reminds us of the situation in Boone 40 years ago, when virtually the only bank writing mortgages for houses required an interview with a bank officer whose first question probed which church you were a member of.
The Supreme Court in 1979 settled the issue of student registration and voting rights. A college student may register and vote where he/she is in school, even if the place of residence is a dorm with Green Day blasting out of every room.
Students in North Carolina, thank God, are not being harassed like students in Virginia. That will change if Pat McCrory is elected governor and the Republican Party takes over control of our 100 county boards of election. There will be little or no accommodation of students.
You betcha.
Labels: voter registration, voter suppression, youth vote
Monday, September 08, 2008
Montgomery Co., Va., Voter Registrar Tries to Keep Students From Registering
It happens somewhere in this country every election cycle ... some local voting official, alarmed that college students might actually take their voting rights seriously, issues a stern warning that IF college students register in his/her county, they're be subjected to waterboarding or something worse.
The Montgomery County registrar, seeing a huge uptick in registration by Virginia Tech students, issued a press release threatening students that they might no longer be claimed as dependents on their parents' tax returns -- "a statement the Internal Revenue Service says is incorrect" -- or that they could lose scholarships or coverage under their parents' car and health insurance, another whopper.
Let's get this straight: a 1979 Supreme Court decision determined that college students can register and vote wherever they're going to school. End of story.
There are no dire consequences to choosing to exercise this right.
The Montgomery County registrar, seeing a huge uptick in registration by Virginia Tech students, issued a press release threatening students that they might no longer be claimed as dependents on their parents' tax returns -- "a statement the Internal Revenue Service says is incorrect" -- or that they could lose scholarships or coverage under their parents' car and health insurance, another whopper.
Let's get this straight: a 1979 Supreme Court decision determined that college students can register and vote wherever they're going to school. End of story.
There are no dire consequences to choosing to exercise this right.
Labels: Montgomery County, Virginia Tech, voter registration, youth vote
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Fodder for John McCain's Military Draft
The Young Voters Index found that in North Carolina 200,000 young citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 still haven't registered to vote. That amounts to 23 percent of that age group ... unregistered, unengaged, too cool for school.
Labels: military draft, youth vote
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Prophets Are Seldom Believed in Their Own Land
Nino Saviano, a North Carolina-based Republican political strategist, has a column in today's Asheville Citizen-Times with a warning headline: "GOP had better pay more attention to young voters." (Hat-tip: The Political Junkies)
Saviano is reading the right (that is, the left) tea-leaves ... that young voters are going to turn out in large numbers for Obama and, given the dismal baggage the label "Republican" carries with it, there's a very good chance that those young voters are going to vote straight Democratic tickets.
Writes Saviano,
What he said.
Saviano is reading the right (that is, the left) tea-leaves ... that young voters are going to turn out in large numbers for Obama and, given the dismal baggage the label "Republican" carries with it, there's a very good chance that those young voters are going to vote straight Democratic tickets.
Writes Saviano,
With Obama as the Democratic nominee and [Ron] Paul out of the race, the youth vote in the November general election may be the most important group vote for the Tar Heel State. While no youth polls exist specifically for North Carolina, nationally Obama claims more than 50 percent support among the young, while McCain claims just above 35 percent.
Since 1992, split-ticket voting by some voter groups has characterized North Carolina and has led to the election of Republicans for president and U.S. senator on one hand, and a Democratic governor and state assembly on the other. In the 2004 election, voters in the 30-44 age group and self-identified suburbanites led the key split-ticket voting.
In November, the impact of a straight-party voting by the young may overshadow any traditional split-ticket voting by any other group. An unusually energizing presidential contest may result in a strong youth vote showing and young voters opting for a straight-party vote from president on downward. This may surprise many North Carolina candidates -- from congressional to statewide and legislative races, to county, city and school board races.
What he said.
Labels: Barack Obama, Nino Saviano, North Carolina Republican Party, youth vote
