Primary Monitor

February 1, 2000

Some students discouraged from registering in Durham
by Associated Press

DURHAM, N.H. - Volunteers for Bill Bradley's campaign and some youth voting groups say town election officials discouraged University of New Hampshire students from registering to vote in the primary Tuesday.

Town officials passed out a memo from Secretary of State William Gardner that encouraged students to vote. The memo also spelled out the possible consequences of changing their permanent residence to New Hampshire, including the possibility of losing scholarships based on their residency in another state.

But some town officials went further Tuesday morning, actively discouraging out-of-town students from registering, said Jim Shannon, a former Massachusetts attorney general and Bradley volunteer.

"I saw a half dozen students who, after waiting in line to vote, said 'I'm not taking any chances with this,' and walked out," Shannon said.

"It's outrageous," said John Dervin, political director of Youthvote2000. "We haven't seen a voter registration drive like this before and it's being blunted by the people in that room."

Both groups complained to town officials and the secretary of state's office.

Town moderator Mike Everngam said that after receiving the complaints, he instructed clerks to stop discussing the residency issue and simply offer students the memo. Then, if they still wanted to register, they were asked to sign an affidavit stating Durham was their primary residence.

But Everngam also charged that some of the groups were getting students who were not true residents of Durham to "stretch the truth" and even perjure themselves in order to register.

"I'm in favor of young people voting," Everngam said. "But voting has some responsibilities."

Everngam said a student who lives in Durham only while attending school and lives with his parents in another state or town the rest of the year has not made Durham his primary residence. A student who lives and works in Durham year round is a resident, he said.

Gardner's memo does not contain any such definition, however, and Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Gavilondo said the state does not have any such requirement.

"It is up to the student who is signing the registration form to decide whether Durham is their primary residence, not the town clerk," she said.

The other alternative for students is to vote an absentee ballot in their home state.

Gavilondo said Gardner put out the memo this year because in 1996, some college students who registered to vote in New Hampshire lost scholarships they had obtained based on their residency in other states.

"Past lessons have shown us people didn't understand what it meant to register to vote in New Hampshire," Gavilondo said.

Despite the confusion, so many UNH students were trying to register at Oyster River High School that at times the wait lasted more than an hour, Dervin said.