Op-ed: New Hampshire state government is trying to mute my voice along with 90,000 other college students. 

by Bailey Matteson
edited by Chris Gibbons  

I have every right constitutionally to vote in the state of New Hampshire, but House Bill 1264 was passed to hinder my ability and that of 90,000 other New Hampshire college students to vote.  

The bill attempted to redefine residency within the state and domicile in order to be able to register to vote. Professor Doug Ley, who is a member of the House of Representatives, said, “The Secretary of State said it would clarify things. Now the Secretary of State says it has nothing to do with voting at all. The New Hampshire attorney general has made it very clear that a college student has a constitutional right to vote.” He says that no matter who you contact they won’t give you a straight answer. They will direct you to someone else to answer. 

House Bill 1264 was passed in 2018 redefying who a resident of New Hampshire is. This would then affect New Hampshire constitutional article 11. [Elections and Elective Franchises.]  According to NHPR, “Supporters have said that the law would bring clarity to New Hampshire’s voting rules , but it’s facing a court challenge from the ACLU and the New Hampshire Democratic Party, who say it will discourage otherwise qualified people from voting.”  

This has not been the first time that a bill has been passed to try to stop college student from voting. According to slate news “If HB 372 passes, car-driving college students who move to New Hampshire from another state will have two options. They can relinquish their right to vote, remain “domiciled” without residency, and retain their out-of-state license and registration, costing them nothing. Or they can exercise their right to vote, become “residents,” and turn over hundreds of dollars to the state. Properly understood, the law looks a lot like a special tax on college students who exercise the franchise.” 

I am originally from Vermont and this is where my financial aid comes from. However, I live in New Hampshire nine months out of the year. After my freshman year of college, I stayed on campus in Rindge. I lived here for 21 months straight. It would be doing a disservice for me to go back to Vermont and vote in town elections because I am no longer a member of the community. I am a member of the Rindge community now.  

The rationale behind Bill 1264 is because college student only live here nine months out of the year. If every college student in the state of New Hampshire voted they could swing elections. Year-round residence, fear this, but what I think they are over looking that New Hampshire is home to us for a majority of the year. We should be teaching everyone to go out and vote and not try to manipulate the voting process.  

Political science professor Frank Choen said, “You cannot be turned away, they can simply make you sign an affidavit.”  The problem with filling out an affidavit is it only gets counted if the race is close. At that point why waste my time to go down to the voting polls to maybe have my vote counted. 

As a student from out of state my vote may count more in New Hampshire then Vermont, but Rindge is where I reside.  As Doug Ley said, “Go out and vote damn it.”

The voting for New Hampshire in the primary is February 11, 2020.