Greenville county students face great difficulty in registering to vote
Michael Blackwood, Staff Writer
Graphic courtesy of Michael Blackwood.
Students in Greenville county, South Carolina have an issue. They cannot register to vote in Greenville county.
In any other county in the state, this would not be an issue. Students at universities such as Anderson University, University of South Carolina, or Charleston Southern University only have to fill out a simple registration form in order to vote in the county in which their school is located.
In the 1972 case, Dyer vs. Huff, in which four students from Furman University sued Greenville county for the right to vote, the court ruled that it is perfectly legal for the county to restrict college students who are not legal residents of Greenville county from registering to vote in Greenville county. “I don’t think that temporary residents, such as students, should be able to vote for local representatives who could legislate permanent laws,” says senior Ryan Stanley
Greenville county provides an extra questionnaire for student who register to vote. This questionnaire contains questions about the student’s permanent legal address, where they pay taxes, where their car is registered, etc.
When asked how they feel about this law, North Greenville students had a mixed response. Most students felt that this law is not fair for the college students; however, a few students agreed with the law because the students from outside the state have the option of an absentee ballot in their home town. “I believe that the county shouldn’t turn down voters just because they do not live in the county. . . Think of the students who cannot get home to vote, are we going to throw their voices away?” says sophomore Carl Bradshaw.
If you are unsure if you are registered to vote, you can check here. The deadline to register for the next election is October 8. If you have not registered to vote yet, you can do so online by clicking here.
