State tells Greenville County to drop voting questionnaire for college students

[TexasTowelie]

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The South Carolina Elections Commission has told Greenville County to stop using a questionnaire to determine if college students can register to vote.

Three Furman University students have sued Greenville County, saying they should not be required to answer questions they consider invasive before being allowed to register to vote, using campus address. A hearing is set Thursday.

Greenville County is the only one in South Carolina that doesn’t allow students to use a campus address to register to vote.

The state election commission told the Greenville County Election Commission the 11-question form violates state law and election commission policy.

Read more: http://www.postandcourier.com/20161004/161009784/state-tells-greenville-county-to-drop-voting-questionnaire-for-college-students

[Gothmog]

1. North Carolina: Judge hears arguments in Furman student voter registration lawsuit | WSPA

This requirement is clearly unconstitutional http://thevotingnews.com/judge-hears-arguments-in-furman-student-voter-registration-lawsuit-wspa/

Students from Furman University will soon learn whether or not they can register to vote in Greenville County. Thursday, a judge heard arguments on a lawsuit claiming they were blocked from registering using their university address. “I hope that we will get a verdict quickly so we will be able to register as many people as possible in the next 36 hours,” said plaintiff, Katherine West. The clock ticks down on voter registration deadline, but for the Furman sophomore, she tried mailing in her Greenville County application more than a month ago. She says she was sent a questionnaire instead of her registration card. The list of questions is sent to inquiring college students is part of a long standing Greenville County election commission policy to determine if the student is a serious resident of the area. Now, it is at the center of a lawsuit filed against the state and the county election commissions.

“The board is unabashedly discriminating against students – residents of this county – who identify their address as on campus housing,” said the student’s attorney, Steve Buckingham.

Thursday, Buckingham argued for an injunction, effectively halting the county’s policy allowing them to register before time runs out.

… Judge Robin Stillwell vowed to make a decision quickly, considering the potential time crunch getting students registered. If the verdict goes the students’ way, it means any Greenville County college student will be able to register using their school address.