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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Unknown Target on March 08, 2011, 11:13:27 am

Title: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Unknown Target on March 08, 2011, 11:13:27 am
My law/politics teacher sent this to me. It relates to what I was protesting in my other thread "Titleless".

I know this affects me personally. One of the measures put forth says;

"One bill would permit students to vote in their college towns only if their parents had previously established residency there"

- first of all, why am I, a legal adult, being tied to where my parents live, before I can vote? But more importantly to me, is that I'm from a US territory whose residents are not allowed to vote in Federal elections (or even register). When I went to college for my freshman year (in NYS), it was the first time I could vote/register - so I did so in the local district. If one of these laws were passed in New York, I wouldn't have been able to vote for 4 years or more - and I definitely wouldn't have been able to vote in the last election.

I was protesting that the youth in America are not as free as we believe...what do you guys think?

[attachment deleted by ninja]
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Nuclear1 on March 08, 2011, 11:52:26 am
It's because they're all young whippersnappers who vote liberal.

At best, it's overly-bureaucratic and ridden with technicalities.  At worst, it's voter disenfranchisement and an absolutely dirty trick.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Bobboau on March 08, 2011, 12:41:17 pm
ok, you should have mentioned this in the first place, your previous situation makes some degree of sense now.
yeah, this cannot be legal, if you are a resident you have the same rights as everyone else. I mean what if you were not a student, lets say you take a few years off after collage, then you would be allowed to vote, now lets say you decide to start, now all of the sudden you are not allowed to vote. bull****.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Unknown Target on March 08, 2011, 12:55:33 pm
Well I didn't know about this until my teacher emailed it to me yesterday, Bob. That's why I didn't say it in my previous thread.

EDIT: Yahoo news picked it up;

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110308/ts_yblog_theticket/ahead-of-the-2012-campaign-states-debate-voting-rights
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Spicious on March 08, 2011, 02:03:29 pm
How did the US get so bad at democracy?
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Mongoose on March 08, 2011, 02:08:41 pm
I sort of have mixed opinions on how impactful the different topics covered in the article will actually be.  I mean, I went to school in Delaware, but during the one national election where I was eligible during my time there, I chose to vote via absentee ballot in my home district in Pennsylvania, because that was where I lived.  There were certain provisions that allowed out-of-state students who met certain criteria to vote in Delaware, but I wasn't interested in that.  I think having at least some minimum standard of residency for voting in a state makes sense, since you're theoretically supposed to be voting for your own local representation.  I also don't see the requirement for some form of ID as a massive issue...if I'm a registered voter, I'd prefer to know that someone isn't attempting to pass themselves off as me.

However, I do agree that putting unreasonable restrictions on voter registration, whether it's eliminating same-day registration (which PA doesn't even allow) or not allowing student photo IDs, is a bad idea.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: General Battuta on March 08, 2011, 02:12:12 pm
MONGOOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION ADDED TO DATABASE

BEEP BEEP
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Thaeris on March 08, 2011, 03:53:19 pm
Allow me to at least paraphrase Frank Herbert:

Quote
Ultimately, a government strives only to propagate itself
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Unknown Target on March 08, 2011, 04:08:42 pm
So what do you folks think you should do about it?
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Snail on March 08, 2011, 04:10:33 pm
uh. Make a sign and fight for (y)our rights
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Mongoose on March 08, 2011, 04:16:54 pm
So what do you folks think you should do about it?
Um...nothing, really?  Like I said, at least half of what's mentioned in that article makes sense to me, and the actual ****ty parts either won't make it across or will wind up being reversed in a few years when the Democrats swing back in power.  That's the way these things usually go.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Nuke on March 08, 2011, 06:39:18 pm
Allow me to at least paraphrase Frank Herbert:

Quote
Ultimately, a government strives only to propagate itself

you win the thread
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Kopachris on March 08, 2011, 09:17:14 pm
Vive la Révolution!
I sure hope I spelled that right.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Unknown Target on March 08, 2011, 11:45:38 pm
So what do you folks think you should do about it?
Um...nothing, really?  Like I said, at least half of what's mentioned in that article makes sense to me, and the actual ****ty parts either won't make it across or will wind up being reversed in a few years when the Democrats swing back in power.  That's the way these things usually go.

Your statement is as inspiring as it is vapid.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: General Battuta on March 08, 2011, 11:52:22 pm
So what do you folks think you should do about it?
Um...nothing, really?  Like I said, at least half of what's mentioned in that article makes sense to me, and the actual ****ty parts either won't make it across or will wind up being reversed in a few years when the Democrats swing back in power.  That's the way these things usually go.

Your statement is as inspiring as it is vapid.

So you're saying you find it inspiring and yet vapid? Or not inspiring and not vapid?

Neither of those makes much sense.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Flipside on March 08, 2011, 11:56:23 pm
Thing is, the reason these situations change is often because people won't just sit back and do nothing.

"Wait for someone else to deal with it" isn't always a workable solution.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Pred the Penguin on March 09, 2011, 04:21:16 am
The whole of Taiwan thinks like that... :lol:
This is a sad country I live in. >_>
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: blackhole on March 09, 2011, 10:50:40 am
My local newspaper ran an article on this: Partisan voting-rights clashes heat up (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014421348_studentvote07.html)
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: LHN91 on March 09, 2011, 12:17:22 pm
This just screams of denial of accountability in government. So, in essence the conservative groups have decided that students should be severely limited in their ability to vote as a member of society simply because the trend is for students to have a liberal mindset. Apparently, it is now just fine to legislatively bias a democratic voting process.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: NGTM-1R on March 09, 2011, 05:43:33 pm
I doubt this will make it past a court challenge. Any court challenge.
Title: Re: State legislatures trying to shut out students
Post by: Grizzly on March 13, 2011, 03:14:41 pm
How did the US get so bad at democracy?

They gazed too long into the Abyss.