Disfranchisement of student voters in Virginia is still an issue even four weeks before Election Day.
The Institute of Southern Studies’ newsletter Facing South reports that the rights of Virginia college students are being challenged by election officials based on a strict interpretation of residency laws. In doing so, the Institute reports, tens of thousands of young and new voters could be disfranchised.
The newsletter reads: “If we can safely estimate that at least 50 percent of Virginia’s new college-aged voters are students, that translates into over 59,000 college student voters. Right now, Pollster.com‘s averages show McCain and Obama separated by merely .2 percent — about 9,500 votes. Using these ballpark estimates, that means affecting less than 20 percent of student registrations alone could swing the election.”
Charlottesville’s own registrar Sheri Iachetta, testified before the Committee on House Administration that Radford University and Virginia Tech are not the only places where controversy related to student voters has been playing out.
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Sheri Iachetta, Charlottesville’s registrar, went before City Council to request funds to buy more voting machines due to the sharp increase in new registered voters in the city.
