VA Resident in WV college - need advice

[captain obvious]

I am a student at WVU, and need to decide from where my vote will be cast this election. I feel that I should stick to Virginia, especially if John Warner is running for reelection this year.

However, WV is a swing state, and my vote for Bush could be crucial there.

Barring some unforseen circumstance (AWB renewal), where would be the better place to have my vote be counted?

 

[captain obvious]

Anyone?

 

[Cacique500]

You've got to be a resident in either VA or WV, not both. Seems to me that would be where you have to vote.

On the other hand, Warner has to go

 

[Virtus]

John Warner was re-elected in 2002 when he ran virtually unopposed, so he's not up for election again until 2008. The big question, given his increasing age is whether he will retire and scede that seat to Tom Davis.

With that question out of the way, there are some others concerning Virginia. Both parties are putting Virginia in play this year. It doesn't matter how often the GOP says it's a safe republican state. This year, it is in play and both Bush and Kerry are at least hitting the airwaves. According to some recent private polls, Kerry may even be running ahead at this point.

That being the case, it's your decision now on whether to vote absentee in Virginia or switch your residence to West Virginia, register and vote there. If you decide to go the West Virginia route, do you live off campus and have an actual address instead of a dorm? If so, then you should be able to become a West Virginia resident. In order to vote this November, you must register at least 20 days prior to the election. Remember, this also will entail getting a West Virginia drivers license, switching your vehicle registration, etc...

If you decide to stay with Virginia, check out www.sbe.state.va.us for absentee voting information.

If you want to switch to West Virginia, go to www.wvsos.com for more information and find out where your local county clerk is.

Good luck and study hard.

 

[Virtus]

Odd Coincidence

Funny - Not but an hour after I posted my reply here, I got a call from a New York Times reporter about this very issue! Apparently you're not alone in considering where you should vote. Looks like it is a major concern for many in the 18-25 set. Way to be on top of the issue!

 

[captain obvious]

I live off campus, but have no intention to become a citizen of West Virginia. If my registration changes, it would be for this election alone.

Also, I was told that should I register in WV I can volunteer to be a poll monitor (as opposed to some leftist taking the place), supposedly all that offer their services are accepted. However, I have also learned that WV has party registration, and the only party I'd register as is Libertarian.

 

[Virtus]

Well, without becoming a citizen of West Virginia, you'll have to stick with Virginia, since only West Virginia citizens can register there.

That most likely rules out the option to work as a poll monitor as well. I'm not entirely sure about West Virginia, but almost every polling place always has multiple monitors present from both the democratic and republican parties and sometimes at least one from a third party. Should any problem or question arise, it's normally required that both of them deal with it, not just one. The only exception, really, is in partisan primaries. This opportunity is limited to the citizens of each state, though.

If you'd really like to work at the polls, I'd suggest contacting your local GOP or Libertarian party office or even the College Republicans. They always have volunteers manning the polling places handing out literature, sample ballots and such. That is not restricted to state residents.

Since you'll be limited to voting in Virginia, here's a link to the absentee ballot application in .pdf format: http://www.sbe.state.va.us/Election/AbsenteeVoting/absenteeBallotApp.pdf

Once you fill that out you can fax it to the Fairfax County Election Office at: (703) 324-3725, or mail it to them at: General Registrar, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 323, Fairfax, VA 22035-0081. They will then send you a ballot to be filled out and returned. The deadline for submitting your application is October 28th. If you'll be visiting home between September 20th and the Saturday before the election, you can vote absentee in person at the county elections office in the government center or at one of these satellite locations:
Franconia Governmental Center
6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria

Mason Governmental Center
6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale

McLean Governmental Center
1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean

Mount Vernon Governmental Center
2511 Parkers Lane, Alexandria

North County Governmental Center
12000 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston

Sully District Governmental Center
4900 Stonecoft Boulevard, Chantilly

West Springfield Governmental Center
6140 Rolling Road, Springfield

Good luck!

 

[bhart89]

Greeting to a fellow Mountaineer!

As others have said, you must vote in the state of your residence. That being said, I got a WV drivers license when I went to WVU because my home state of NJ didn't allow CCW like WV did. It's an easy task to get your DL cahnged. (There's a State police office in Westover on the left hand side on the way to the mall.) You can get your DL there. If given the choice, vote in WV. There are many welfare voters there who need to be out-voted.

I'll drag a couple of lazy voters to the poles to vote for "W" to make up for your vote in VA!

 

[countertop]

Change your residence to WV and vote there.

Virginia is just not up for grabs, and the Kerry campaign has pretty much confirmed that by not making any media buys here. Furthermore, if it were up for grabs, Bush would be long gone anywway.

West Virginia may actually be decided by less than 500 votes this year. Please vote there.

 

[dshimm]

How about both places? The Dems do it all the time!