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Polytechnic Online
October 22, 2003
Student voting registration questioned by candidates
By Andrew Tibbetts
Two weeks ago, student organizers for the national organization Democracy
Matters set up tables around campus and ���dorm stormed��� in an effort to
generate interest in voting at RPI. In all, the group registered 293 students,
with the bulk of them filing to vote in the city of Troy. The group was
overjoyed at their results, but now several candidates for positions in Troy
city government are beginning to voice concerns.
���The eligibility of non-resident students will certainly have to be carefully
scrutinized and possibly legally challenged,��� said Councilman-at-Large Robert
Armet. ���I think it���s wonderful that students would register to vote, but
temporary residents may not truly be residents of Troy.���
According to New York State voting laws, a person is eligible to register as
long as they are a U.S. citizen 18 or older, will have lived at an address in
the district for at least 30 days preceding the next election, are not in jail
or on parole for a felony conviction, and do not claim the right to vote
anywhere else in the country.
Brian Reece, the leader of the RPI chapter of Democracy Matters, was shocked by
the protests. ���We just want to get students to be active, and what better
place than their immediate community?��� He said that a good number of the
students he registered joined the Republican party and that the candidates
certainly weren���t making friends through their efforts.
Some who saw the press release issued by Armet, District 4 council candidate
Cathryne Collington, and District 4 council candidate Art Judge said it seemed
to take on an attitude that the registrations were some sort of conspiracy.
���Many of the students enrolled to vote live in tax-exempt dorms and therefore
it is somewhat curious as to their sudden interest in local Troy politics,���
the statement read. It went on to call on the organizers to explain their
intentions.
���It is somewhat unfair to the hardworking taxpayers of Troy that an obvious
organized effort has been made by someone to have temporary residents and
non-taxpaying students take over�Ķ��� Judge said in the statement.
���We certainly do not want to deny anyone a chance to vote,��� Judge said.
���But the concern is that this is an off-year election, with no state or
federal races [to bring out a lot of voters].���
Of the 293 students who were registered, 270 joined Troy���s voting population.
194 of them listed 1999 Burdett Ave as their address, which places them in
District 4. Because the students now represent 20 percent of the voting
population of that area, it has concerned Collington.
���As a minority woman, this effort on behalf of students enrolling en-masse in
my district seriously undermines the ability of success in Troy���s only
potential minority district,��� she said in the statement.
���Quite frankly, [the students] have a lot of power, and I hope every one who
chooses to vote makes an educated choice,��� said Armet.
According to Joan Mandel, the executive director and co-founder of Democracy
Matters, the group has over 60 high school and college chapters around the
nation and this is the first time student registration has been questioned by
community members.
���Every American citizen deserves an equal opportunity to influence the laws
and rules under which they live. Active voter registrations are necessary to
make American democracy work,��� Mandel said.
As a result of the response to the registration, Reece and other campus
officials have organized a political forum for Troy candidates to be held
Thursday at 7 pm in DCC 308. Both candidates for mayor will be in attendance,
along with the majority of candidates for council-at-large, several candidates
for council from districts four and five, and a candidate for district attorney.
Debates will be held, and students will be given a chance to ask questions of
the candidates. The event is open to all students and community members.
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