There are several types of governments in Montgomery County -- the county itself, and towns, as well as Radford City -- and all must adhere to Virginia law.
Our great body of laws form the basis for how these governments operate -- yet as seen in budget preparation and presentation, how FOIA is supported or dismissed, Comprehensive Plans and zoning applied, responding to public input or making appointments, and even voter registration -- interpretation by each government entity varies wildly even within a small region. For examples of this, just search any of these topics, either within local blogs or via an internet search engine.
We now have a national election just weeks distance from what has (so far) been the worst financial meltdown in a generation, after making just a bit of headway out of a fairly short yet deep recession in 2000-2001. Our country is entrenched in a war with NATO allies in Afghanistan because of 9/11, and another in Iraq where Americans now stand alone because of what is generally perceived as being brought about by false pretenses or misinformation.
So more and more people are tracking what our government is doing -- locally, and at state or federal levels. People are aware of Monday's deadline to register to vote in November's election, creating lots of work in all voter registrar offices, in addition to staffing the polls on Nov. 4. No big surprise with this, as it is typical during every presidential election cycle.
In Radford, however, we see a Voter Registrar apparently annoyed with performing his duties. This can be demonstrated by Tracy Howard placing barriers in front of Radford University students who are attempting to register to vote. This has been an ongoing issue because of the language in State Code, but clarification was again recently provided by the State Board of Elections and established student housing is a valid registration address! Students might be asked certain questions, but are not bound to answer them. And it doesn't matter whether they plan on staying in a community or not, post graduation. If they perceive themselves as a resident of Radford today, that's supposed to be the deciding factor and RU students should be treated the same as anywhere else in the NRV or Commonwealth. Howard's apparent dismay in performing the duties of his job can again be seen in recent discussions about dates to hold city elections or issues relative to voter precincts.
We are seeing a generation who grew up with access to massive amounts of information via the internet and cable, who know how to use technology and had higher educational standards applied to them. The NRV is typical in that college students across the nation are getting informed and involved in what is probably the first opportunity they have had to participate as voters in a presidential election. Exercising this right, and performing this civic responsibility, should be encouraged rather than discouraged.
Just how many non-student voters can say with any absolute certainly what their own address will be four or eight years from now -- we are a highly mobile society whether due to family, employment, health or other reasons. Howard doesn't care. Perhaps he's trying to preserve the pool of voters for when local issues are determined where RU students may be less interested but could effectively sway those races.
Voter registrars should not be placing any obstacles before citizens. The bottom line is that if you are a United States citizens at least 18 years of age, currently living in the Commonwealth of Virginia and are not claiming the right to vote anywhere else, a citizen should be allowed to register to vote! The only caveats are relative to courts declaring someone mentally incompetent or where convicted felons have not had this right restored after release from prison.
Citizens of all ages and backgrounds should be appalled when anyone discourages participation in any way, shape or form or otherwise abuses voting rights. Remove these artificial barriers and then people may have a valid reason to scratch their heads and wonder why voter turn out in America is one of the lowest of all democratic nations.