Arizona Daily Wildcat
September 9, 2004
Students Angry at Report on Registration Practices
By Mitra Taj
UA students yesterday demanded the county and state retract statements
broadcasted on Fox 11 News, which claimed out-of-state students could become
felons if they registered to vote in Arizona.
Though the retractions were denied, students settled for a clarification from
the Pima County Recorder Ann Rodriguez.
The UA Network of Feminist Student Activists said an Aug. 31 FOX-11 News
broadcast could discourage out-of-state students from registering to vote in
Arizona and participating in November's election.
The Fox story, which ran at 9 that night, filmed the NFSA Get Out Her Vote
registration drive on the UA Mall and questioned whether registering
out-of-state students to vote in Arizona is illegal.
Pima County Voter Registrar Chris Roads said on the program that out-of-state
students are committing a felony if they register to vote in Arizona and they
don't intend on remaining in the state "indefinitely."
Fox reporter Natalie Tejeda interviewed women's studies and political science
senior and NFSA president Kelly Kraus, who cited voter registration forms and
said out-of-state students aren't breaking any laws by registering to vote in
Arizona as long as they do so within 29 days of the election.
After consulting with law experts and mobilizing support with different
organizations, Kraus and NFSA vice president Juliana Zacurro, a women's studies,
political science and creative writing senior, decided to ask for apologies from
the offices of the Pima County recorder and the Secretary of State. Officials at
the Secretary of State's Office told the students interpretation of state
registration laws are determined by the county recorder.
Roads, a Republican, denied the students' request for a retraction of his
statements.
"I can't retract state law," Roads said.
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If
they see themselves as residents of the state in their mind, they can
register to vote here.
- Ann Rodriguez,
Pima County Recorder
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Rodriguez, a Democrat, also refused to issue a retraction but said that as
the "official spokesperson" for the county recorder's office, she
wanted to clarify her colleague's position, emphasizing that it's enough for
students to consider themselves Arizona residents when they register to vote.
"A student at the University of Arizona is treated as any other citizen
of this community. If they see themselves as residents of the state in their
mind, they can register to vote here," Rodriguez said. "I'm not going
to challenge their intent."
No other proof, such as an Arizona driver's license, a utility bill, or a
period of residency in Arizona longer than 29 days before elections, is required
of out-of-state students, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the county has never rejected, much less penalized any
students from out of state for registering to vote in Arizona.
But Roads said years in the future, systemized voter databases across the
country would help states catch those who have illegally voted.
"While a person may not be caught this month or this year, the chances
of getting caught in the future are pretty significant," Roads said.
The Help America Vote Act, passed by Congress in 2002, will require all
states to have a single voter registration database by 2006. All states would be
required to verify every voter's registration records through the state motor
vehicle database and the Social Security administration database to verify the
identity of the voter.
Roads said he expects that in the future, states will compare databases to
catch those who have illegally voted. Roads said that would include out-of-state
students who registered to vote in Arizona without the intention of remaining in
the state.
"If you intend to remain here indefinitely then you qualify as a
resident," he said. "If a student decides that they are not an Arizona
resident, I encourage them to register to vote in their own home state."
But Rodriguez said the chances of the HAVA requirements being used to find
students who really didn't intend to stay in Arizona when they voted are
"miniscule."
"The intent of the HAVA is to make sure people do not register to vote
in two states and vote in two states," she said. "That's the true
nature of HAVA."
Rodriguez said if a student changes their mind later and decides to leave the
state, there's no reason why the county or the state should doubt their
intentions.
"Who knows what's going to happen in time," Rodriguez said.
"Maybe they get a great paying job in another state and decide to leave.
That's their business."
Zacurro said she's "sort of happy" with the clarification but said
it shouldn't have taken so long.
Though Zucarro and Kraus didn't accuse Fox 11 or the county recorder of
coordinating the content of the broadcast or purposefully intimidating young
people from voting, they said attempts to suppress the youth vote have been
happening across the country.
"Students at the University of Arizona stand in solidarity with all
student voters in defending their right to vote in their college communities and
have their voices heard," said Kraus.
Laura Briggs, associate professor of women's studies and anthropology
circulated an e-mail on university listservs in which she called the Fox program
and Roads' comments "scary as hell" and suggested Fox 11 News might
have been in cahoots with the Republican Party to try to stop registration
drives by the Feminist Majority Foundation.
A statement issued yesterday by Fox 11 News managing editor, Bob Richardson,
said Briggs was implying that the story was part of a conspiracy, claims he
called "patently false."
"FOX 11 News (KMSB) is an independent journalism organization based in
Tucson," the statement said. "We are not associated with any political
party and work hard to maintain our independence."
Richardson said the story gave both sides of the story a voice.
"The story was balanced and reported various viewpoints of an important
issue," he said in the statement. "We will continue to report on that
issue and stand by our original story."
Sue Walitsky, communications director for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in
Arizona, said since the Fox 11 News program aired, the Arizona Democratic Party
has been researching Roads' interpretation of state law, which she said was
wrong.
She said Fox never should have run the story.
"There's an expectation that the media will help inform people,"
she said. "They should not be intimidating students or threatening
them."
Zacurro said the Fox program won't stop organizations from registering
students to vote.
"We're not going to be intimidated," Zacurro said. "We're not
going to be dismayed over these apparent attempts to discourage students from
voting."
University organizations like ASUA, the UA Voter Coalition, the UA Young
Democrats, the College Republicans, the UA ACLU, Campus Libertarians, the UA Law
School National Lawyer's Guild, and the UA Women's Studies Department supported
the NFSA along with 11 community organizations.
About 35 percent of UA students are from out of state.
Transcript of the Fox 11 News Broadcast:
Anchor: "Well, both the local parties this year are putting on a
big push to get young people to register to vote, but are they also encouraging
them to break the law? Fox 11's Natalie Tejeda is live at the University of
Arizona with more on this story, Natalie."
Natalie: "Several hundred students have registered to vote here
over the past few days, but the Pima County Registrar of voters believes many
may have unintentionally committed a felony."
Student to other student: "Are you registered to vote?"
Natalie: "History has shown that every vote can in fact count,
but several organizations holding registration drives claim many don't make
their voice heard."
(Network of Feminist Student Activists) Kelly Kraus: "Women our
age 18-24 vote less than any other age group of women so we decided something
needed to be done to start registering and mobilizing young women in our
community and on campus."
Natalie: "But is that mobilization going in the right
direction?"
(Network of Feminist Student Activists) Juliana Zuccaro, does not say
individuals name in report: "I'm from California, but I switched so I
can vote in the Presidential election in Arizona."
Natalie: "What many don't realize is that legally, students from
out of state aren't eligible to vote in Arizona because they're considered
temporary residence."
(Pima County Registrar's Office) Chris Roads: "If they are only
here to attend school and their intention is to immediatly return to where they
came from when school is over then they are not residents of the state of
Arizona for voting purposes and they cannot register to vote here."
Natalie: "Representatives of the Network of Feminist Student
Activists on campus disagree."
Kelly Kraus: "On the registration form it says as long as you
have residency 29 days before the election, so people who live here now who
moved here before school started and moved into the dorms, they are legal
residents."
Natalie: "It's a gray area that has lead to numerous legal
battles including a supreme court case. However, Chris Roads of the Registrar of
Voters says the law is on their side and those caught mis-representing their
residency can face a severe punishment."
Chris Roads: "The form in Arizona is an affadavit; it is a felony
offense if you are lying on that form."
Natalie: "So how easy is it to get caught? Well, starting this
past January all voter applications are cross checked with the Motor Vehicles
Department and social security Administration. If they find that you are
falsifying your residency you could be prosecuted. At this time we don't know if
anybody has yet been indicted, but Roads says one of the easiest things you can
do to avoid all that is simply go on-line or pick up the phone call your home
state's elections office and ask for an absentee ballot."
Anchor: "Better to be safe on that one, Thanks Natalie."
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