An omnibus election bill that is moving through the Indiana legislature could pose a risk of intimidating student voters.
Senate Bill 466 includes a provision that defines residence requirements for student voters. Residence can be either the address they traveled from to attend school (such as a family address), or the student’s new address in the community in which the student is attending a college or university. If it is the college address, this bill requires that the student has “no intention” of returning to their family home address.
This strong language essentially appears to require potential young voters to determine what the future holds in terms of living situations before they can establish their civic right while attending college. In a time when young people are the most mobile members of society, and many of them face considerable uncertainty about their futures, this requirement appears to be unnecessary and confusing.
The bill is scheduled to be heard by the House Elections and Apportionment Committee on Wednesday, April 1 at 3:30 p.m.
For more information on this issue, please feel free to contact Estelle Rogers, legislative director, at (888) 546-4173, ext. 310 or erogers@projectvote.org.
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