Republican Strategy--Don't Let Young People Vote

Ohio may welcome you, but please don't vote if you are 18-22 years old.  In a budget amendment filed  by Republicans in the Ohio House, state universities that provide documents enabling students to register to vote in their college town, rather than in the state where their parents reside, will be forbidden from charging those students out-of-state tuition.  This is the second GOP attempt to restrict college students from voting in just the past month. About a month ago, a North Carolina Republican lawmaker filed a bill that would raise taxes on families with college students if the student registers to vote at school rather than in their parents’ hometown.

Two thoughts--other than the one whereby in order to remain in office you have to impede people's ability to vote--what about the concept of democrasy did you miss in school? 

The first is that universities are in the business of transitioning students into adulthood.  They are encouraging them to make their own decisions and to move away from having their parents control them.  Any parent of a college student knows that except for being responsible for the bills, you have no rights.  You get no information about grades, classes selected, housing, you name it.  The kid is over 18 and that is the way it should be.  Voting is a small part of all of this, to be sure--but it has a role.  A democrasy needs people who vote and encouraging college students to vote--either at school or at home--is important for our country.  And since most elections take place in November, college students are in the place where they go to school, not the place where their parents live when it comes time to vote.  They live a majority of the year where their college is, and encouraging them to register gets them invovled with their community.

The second thought is that it is unconstitutional.  The aim is to dissuade universities from providing information to college students about voting, and the Supreme Court decided in Symm v. US in 1979 that discouraging college students to vote where they attend school violated the 26th Amendment.  What were the facts of the case?
At the time, Waller County, Texas was a small rural county west of Houston, and had a population of approximately 15,000, of which a slight majority was African American. Prairie View A & M University is a state-supported, predominately black university located in Waller County. Symm was responsible for registering voters in the county. Persons personally known to Symm or his deputies as county residents, as well as persons who were listed on the tax rolls as owning property in Waller County, were routinely registered upon filling out the state registration form. Those who fell within neither of these categories were required to complete a residency questionnaire, which asks whether the applicant is a college student and, if so, inquires into the student's home address, property ownership, employment status, future plans, and so forth.  Not okay, the Appellate Court said and the Supreme Court agreed.  So cut that out.  Considering how many lawyers we have in government, you would think they would know better.