Like myself, almost half of Keene State College’s students come from out-of-state. Another fact is the Republican and Democrat parties are not exactly best friends.
There is a correlation between the two, I promise. Because Donald Trump is secretly a middle school bully in a fancy suit, he has made more than a couple of outrageous claims to justify him losing the popular vote, and a few of them have been aimed at New Hampshire specifically. Last November, he bitterly claimed (through Twitter) there was “serious voter fraud” in New Hampshire. In February, he said thousands of people were bused from Massachusetts to New Hampshire to cast illegal votes. Besides making me laugh, neither claim was backed up by any actual evidence.
Luke Sweeney / Equinox Staff
In New Hampshire, a college student can vote if they have a valid out-of-state ID, but due to Trump’s recent cries that the election was rigged, New Hampshire Republicans have started cracking down on college students.
House Bill 372 states that a person can only vote in New Hampshire if they are considered a resident, which entails registering your car and getting a New Hampshire driver’s license. Between getting a new license, state fees, municipal fees and a couple of nonsensical administrative fees thrown in there for good measure, registering can cost upwards of $143, according to Slate.
That’s $143 more than I would like to spend just to be able to vote. I am almost positive a majority of fellow broke college students can back me up on that claim. Supporters said the bill is just to “correct” problematic language in the current law and to make sure people have a strong connection to the state they’re voting in. Opposers were still quick to point out that it would only suppress voting and make it more difficult for out-of-state students to cast a ballot.
The legalities of our friend HB 372 are a little murky; according to Slate, the New Hampshire Constitution allows “every inhabitant of the state of 18 years of age and upwards… an equal right to vote in any election.” Placing a burden on someone’s right to vote can only happen if it advances the state’s interest, which this certainly does not.
I am honestly impressed with the amount of effort that went into this. I like the idea of a couple of Republicans so irate over the fact that they could possibly lose an election that they had to jump through hoops to prevent a couple of frat boys from voting for Bernie in 2020. That being said, this is mostly in response to college students being held responsible for Hillary winning in New Hampshire last year, and it is childish for someone to even consider taking these measures to prevent people from voting. I cannot imagine dedicating so much time towards being so angry that I would try and take away their rights like this.
This is all over a candidate who still lost the popular vote, by the way, which I think is fantastic. Trump, being the actual president of the United States, isn’t enough for those who voted for him – it’s the fact that he lost the popular vote that is grinding their gears. This is nothing but a desperate attempt to blame anyone but the guy who would probably marry Andrew Jackson if he could.
Izzy Manzo can be contacted at imanzo@kscequinox.com
