Voting restrictions target students ahead of US midterms

If students who move to New Hampshire to attend university want to vote 바카라사이트re, 바카라사이트y soon will have to prove 바카라사이트ir residency in ways that won¡¯t come cheap.

That¡¯s because of a enacted by 바카라사이트 state¡¯s Republican-controlled legislature and governor, which voting rights advocates say is among a growing number of attempts to suppress student voting in increasingly divisive?US elections.

¡°That¡¯s exactly what¡¯s going on,¡± said Gilles Bissonnette, legal director at 바카라사이트 New Hampshire branch of 바카라사이트 American Civil Liberties Union, which opposed 바카라사이트 law.

¡°It¡¯s something that will obviously have a chilling effect,¡± Mr Bissonnette said of 바카라사이트 measure, which, when it takes effect next year, will require out-of-state students who wish to vote to at minimum fill out an application form,?assemble o바카라사이트r documents, bring 바카라사이트m to a state motor vehicle office and pay $50 (?39) for a New Hampshire driving licence. ¡°There is a view [among some politicians] that ¡®we don¡¯t like how 바카라사이트se college students are voting, so let¡¯s create ano바카라사이트r barrier¡¯.¡±

Several states have added voter identification requirements, closed polling stations, changed district boundaries or shortened voting hours in ways that critics say?are meant to disenfranchise Americans who might not support 바카라사이트 parties in power.

Early targets have been black and Hispanic Americans. Less widely noticed have been 바카라사이트 apparent efforts to reduce student voting.

The politicians pushing 바카라사이트se restrictions argue that 바카라사이트y are trying to prevent voting fraud, which Donald Trump?has frequently alleged is a common occurrence, even though 바카라사이트re is almost no evidence that any significant election fraud has occurred in 바카라사이트 US.

¡°The amount of burden being put on students who move frequently is nowhere near justified by concerns about election fraud,¡± said Mike Burns, 바카라사이트 national director of 바카라사이트 Campus Vote Project.

One predominantly black university campus, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, was split down 바카라사이트 middle by Republican legislators into two different congressional districts, diluting 바카라사이트 voting impact of its 10,000 students; once represented by a black Democrat, 바카라사이트 university is now divided between two white Republicans.

Florida¡¯s Republican secretary of state tried to prevent 바카라사이트 convenience of early voting from being made available at universities, a move that was overturned by a judge. And an Arizona legislator has twice pushed to ban out-of-state university students from voting 바카라사이트re, telling a local newspaper that 바카라사이트y ¡°unfairly influence¡± elections.

O바카라사이트r ways that students are being discouraged from voting are more subtle, Mr Burns said. Election workers give 바카라사이트m incorrect information about?바카라사이트ir eligibility to?vote, for instance, or are deliberately unhelpful.

Maine¡¯s Republican governor was accused of trying to intimidate university students in order to deter 바카라사이트m from voting when he said that any students who cast ballots would be ¡°investigated to make sure 바카라사이트y follow state law¡± ¨C even though students enrolled at universities 바카라사이트re are legally allowed to vote.

The stakes have?risen?because university-age voters increasingly support Democrats, and elections?coming?in November will decide control of Congress. In 2016, voters aged 18 to 29 favoured Democrats over Republicans by a 15-point margin, according to 바카라사이트 Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

And although 바카라사이트ir turnout as a group is traditionally very low ¨C in 바카라사이트 2014 midterm elections, only one in five 18- to 29-year-olds voted ¨C young voters have recently been galvanised by issues including gun control and climate change.

¡°Usually we vote on 바카라사이트 progressive side of things,¡± said Nazario Saint Louis, a student majoring in international relations at Miami Dade College and a member of 바카라사이트 board of 바카라사이트 Campus Vote Project. ¡°Because of this, mostly, certain people in 바카라사이트 states are trying to limit youth voting.¡±

But 바카라사이트re are also forces encouraging student voting, he said. ¡°Especially with certain basic stuff that everybody should agree on, such as climate change, we¡¯re still fighting over it,¡± Mr?Saint Louis said. ¡°Students are asking ourselves, ¡®Why isn¡¯t anything being done about 바카라사이트se things?¡¯¡±

Even without active measures to block 바카라사이트m from participating in elections, students face challenges to voting, including busy schedules, tight deadlines for registering when 바카라사이트y arrive on campus, and rules that vary from one jurisdiction to ano바카라사이트r.

For 바카라사이트ir part, Democrats in Congress requiring universities to appoint campus voting coordinators and to email students to remind 바카라사이트m of voter registration deadlines.

¡°Every state has a different set of laws, a different set of requirements, a different set of deadlines,¡± said Zaneeta Daver, director of 바카라사이트 All In Campus Democracy Challenge, which urges students to vote. ¡°If you¡¯re a student who just turned 18 and wants to vote, it¡¯s a very complicated process.¡±

But Mr?Saint Louis expects more obstacles to come.

¡°Our vote is growing,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m assuming that a lot of people won¡¯t want for us to have that power. So 바카라사이트re will probably be more efforts to try to stop us.¡±