Through various sources it appears that Job Corps is finally on the way back to Cherokee. Over the last few weeks the upper echelon of our Federal Government have came to the area to review the existing facility & grounds and come to some terms with planning the reopening of this Facility.
It appears that details are somewhat sketchy on the curriculum which is being planned for this facility. However the schedule for reopening appears to be early March of 2008.
Swain County will again have additional employment opportunities, as well as a possible additional voting block which could influence local politics, if left unchecked.
Should these students be given a pass to vote and influence Swain County?
We're talking about a somewhat captive audience which are brought to the area, educated & trained and subsequently returned to where they came from.
What do you think?
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7 comments:
Before this degenerates into a lot of hyperbole, it appears that the law is rather straightforward on this, at least as stated on the North Carolina State Board of Elections Website:
Qualifications to register to vote in North Carolina
To register to vote in this State, a person must sign a voter declaration attesting that:
- I am a U.S. citizen.
- I will have been a resident of North Carolina and this county for 30 days before the election.
- I will be at least 18 years old by the next general election.
- I am not registered nor will I vote in any other county or state.
- If I have been convicted of a felony, my rights of citizenship have been restored.
Some more background: The Supreme Court decision of March 21, 1972, declared lengthy requirements for voting in state and local elections unconstitutional and suggested that 30 days was an ample period. Most of the states have changed or eliminated their durational residency requirements to comply with the ruling, as shown. Note, for all states, in order to register to vote, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen, a legal resident of the state, and 18 years old on or before election day. Additionally, most states do not permit an individual to vote if he or she is a convicted felon currently serving time in prison or has been declared mentally incompetent by a court of law.
If they've been here 30 days, they are eligible to vote. That's just the way it is.
The key word in your comment is "appears". Residency is ynonymous with Domicile. This is upheld in the courts presently to give the individual a higher responsibility than to show up for 30 days and say I'm here. The requirements which you cut and pasted require the qualification for residency which is domicile. The definition for domicile is far greater than just showing up for 30 days before voting.
Understand fully what you read before taking things at face value.
I believe Farnsworth vs Jones can shed light on this issue.
We need to look at the big picture of the job corps opening -there will be jobs for the local area- it looks as though some people only look at a very very small part of the total impact this will have on the local ecomony.Please look at the postive aspects and not the conceived threat of a"voting block".
You are correct. This is a opportunity for employment in this county and should be recoginzed however history must be considered as well. Has there been situations where the number of attendees from OJCC voting in Swain has determined the outcome of an election? Now one can not deny the right to vote but that right is assoiciated with the attendees residence / domicile. Again history on this subject in Swain County Politics has been just a little too cozy.
Since somebody first decided to start quoting the rules on residency with links to the State Board of Elections, it looks like this link should clear up the matter nicely. Written by the General Counsel of the State Board of Elections and posted on a NC County Website for Election Purposes.
www.waynegov.com/departments/boe/_data/forms/4~Information%20Documents/Residency%20for%20Election%20Purposes.pdf
As for the Employment vs the election business. You're talking about two different things. They can only be tied together by people not following the rules.
From a reading of the excellent link provided by Straight Shooter, the relevant info appears to be the Section 11:
So long as a student intends to make the student's home in the community where the student is physically present for the purpose of attending school while the student is attending school and has no intent to return to the student's former home after graduation, the student may claim the college community as the student's domicile. The student need not also intend to stay in the college community beyond graduation in order to establish domicile there. This subdivision is intended to codify the case law.
How it reads to me is as follows: If a student intends to return to their home, i.e. their previous residence after graduation, then they are not allowed to vote. However, if they are planning on moving elsewhere, or staying in Swain County after graduation, they can establish domicile for the time they are here.
Do others reading this share my interpretation? Or do I have this wrong?
The main point: Rather than having an argument on about who should or shouldn't be allowed to vote,it is in everyone's best interest for a clear understanding ahead of time as to what the the rules are. That way any challenges as to the appropriateness of a potential voters eligibility could be brought up at the time of voter registration, not after an election has occurred. This would be best for all parties involved.
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