New voting rules enacted

February 5th, 2010 | By Solomon Miller | Section: News

For years, many Grinnell students have been living in the mail room in JRC. At least, that’s what they’ve been reporting on voter registration cards.

A new procedure requires students to register with their residential address—not their mailing address—in order to vote in local, state and national elections. This means that students will have to re-register each year or whenever then move across campus. The new policy responds to local Republican opposition to students’ votes during the 2008 presidential election.

In October of 2008, the co-chairs of the Poweshiek County Republicans contested the eligibility of 50 students who voted early for the presidential election. The challenge claimed that since the students did not all live in the JRC, they were not properly registered to vote. But as Dean of Students Travis Greene noted, nearly all college housing—including the entirety of campus and most off-campus houses—lies in the same ward as the JRC. There was no confusion as to how the votes should have been counted. An electoral committee affirmed all 50 votes.

Poweshiek County Auditor Diana Dawley recommended the new, more precise guidelines to ensure all eligible and interested voters would have their vote counted. Dawley is interpreting the law more strictly than many others, according to Greene and Co-Chair of the Campus Democrats Phillip Sletten ’11, who both worked with Dawley on this issue. They believe this is to avoid any future challenges to students’ votes after what happened in the ’08 elections.

To this end, Student Affairs sent out an all-campus e-mail before the recent caucuses clarifying the rules and listing the address of all dorms and college-owned houses. According to Greene, a similar e-mail will be sent before every election.

The next election is the Iowa primary in June, in which Gov. Chet Culver (D) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R) are each running for re-election. Students will be able to vote early, before the school year ends, according to Sletten. Under Iowa law, voters can register or update their registration on the day they vote. Still, many students choose to register early to avoid hassle on election day.

The Campus Democrats hope to register as many students as possible. Despite the group’s party affiliation, Sletten encourages students with any political views to register. He says the Campus Democrats have registered Republicans and independents, as well as Democrats. He hopes the extra paperwork will not decrease student voting.

“We know it’s tedious,” Sletten said, “We don’t particularly like it either. But we want to make sure that no challenges to your vote occur and that you can vote here in Iowa if you want to.”

For years, many Grinnell students have been living in the mail room in JRC. At least, that’s what they’ve been reporting on voter registration cards.

A new procedure requires students to register with their residential address—not their mailing address—in order to vote in local, state and national elections. This means that students will have to re-register each year or whenever then move across campus. The new policy responds to local Republican opposition to students’ votes during the 2008 presidential election.

In October of 2008, the co-chairs of the Poweshiek County Republicans contested the eligibility of 50 students who voted early for the presidential election. The challenge claimed that since the students did not all live in the JRC, they were not properly registered to vote. But as Dean of Students Travis Greene noted, nearly all college housing—including the entirety of campus and most off-campus houses—lies in the same ward as the JRC. There was no confusion as to how the votes should have been counted. An electoral committee affirmed all 50 votes.

Poweshiek County Auditor Diana Dawley recommended the new, more precise guidelines to ensure all eligible and interested voters would have their vote counted. Dawley is interpreting the law more strictly than many others, according to Greene and Co-Chair of the Campus Democrats Phillip Sletten ’11, who both worked with Dawley on this issue. They believe this is to avoid any future challenges to students’ votes after what happened in the ’08 elections.

To this end, Student Affairs sent out an all-campus e-mail before the recent caucuses clarifying the rules and listing the address of all dorms and college-owned houses. According to Greene, a similar e-mail will be sent before every election.

The next election is the Iowa primary in June, in which Gov. Chet Culver (D) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R) are each running for re-election. Students will be able to vote early, before the school year ends, according to Sletten. Under Iowa law, voters can register or update their registration on the day they vote. Still, many students choose to register early to avoid hassle on election day.

The Campus Democrats hope to register as many students as possible. Despite the group’s party affiliation, Sletten encourages students with any political views to register. He says the Campus Democrats have registered Republicans and independents, as well as Democrats. He hopes the extra paperwork will not decrease student voting.

“We know it’s tedious,” Sletten said, “We don’t particularly like it either. But we want to make sure that no challenges to your vote occur and that you can vote here in Iowa if you want to.”