With the upcoming election, there is a lot of talk on campus about making the students’ voices heard. Somewhere along the way, the people have come to believe that making one’s vote matter is the same as making one’s voice heard. Now, Duke students are not only encouraged to register to vote, but also to make sure that they’re registered in North Carolina, a swing state. This is particularly true for students who come from politically uncompetitive safe states. Unfortunately, this voting philosophy has been embraced by many even though it undermines the principles of our representative democracy.
Our government is designed so that citizens of the United States vote for officials to represent them. When people vote in elections for officials that won’t be responsible for representing them, there is an incongruity between the interests of the representatives and those of the people. North Carolinians are stuck with the consequences, while out-of-state students leave as soon as class ends.
In a sense, the out-of-state voter is saying that they know what is better for the people of North Carolina than the people themselves. If North Carolinians want to be governed by a Republican, who are Duke students to vote otherwise when they won’t be significantly affected by the governor’s policy agenda.
An out-of-state student might vote for a candidate who raises income taxes yet be unaffected by these policies since they pay taxes in their home state. Similarly, an out-of-state student could vote for a candidate who increases regulations on small businesses. The student won’t face the consequences of the regulatory changes in the same way that North Carolinians do as small business owners and consumers, since students spend most of their time on campus.
These students damage the political process in North Carolina by taking advantage of the state’s lenient residency requirements for voting. The only requirement to vote in North Carolina this November beyond those set by the federal government is living in the state by Oct. 9. Thus, all Duke students qualify to register to vote in North Carolina. And many do claim residency in North Carolina for voting purposes, even though they don’t consider North Carolina their home state. Their drivers’ licenses are from other states and when the semester ends, they’re on the first flight out of RDU.
This is not to say that all students shouldn’t register to vote in North Carolina. There are some students who do make their home in North Carolina when they attend Duke. These students’ drivers’ licenses are from North Carolina, and they pay their taxes in the state. They are directly affected by the policies implemented in North Carolina and thus should have their voices heard by voting in the state.
A potential fix would be for North Carolina to pass stricter residency requirements, but the state would then run the risk of disenfranchising some voters. This is unfortunately not likely a concern of the North Carolina legislature.
Where students register to vote is not something that should be resolved through legislation. Instead, students need to reconsider their values when choosing where to vote—it is an important decision that should be based on which community a student most identifies with, not where their individual voice is loudest. If that means registering in North Carolina, then that’s what the student should do.
So while my vote may “matter more” in North Carolina, I’ll be voting in Maryland. I personally am more directly affected by Maryland’s policies than by those of North Carolina. It may be too late for students to change their voter registration for this election—I hope students will, in future elections, choose to vote in the state they better identify with and that which matters more to them, rather than registering in the state where their vote might be “loudest.”
Justin Koritzinsky is a Trinity senior. His column, “performance review,” runs on alternate Wednesdays.
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