Voter Registration

BYU-Idaho encourages all students, faculty, and employees to take part in elections in the states that they call their permanent home. Since many BYU-Idaho students are not Idaho residents, they should register to vote in their home city and county either in person or by absentee ballot.

American citizens over 18 years-old have a constitutional right to vote. Do your part in electing persons to office and set the direction of our government. Your vote allows all people to exercise their rights and fulfill responsibilities as good citizens.

The 1998 Higher Education Act requires all post-secondary institutions to distribute voter registration forms to each degree or certificate-seeking on-campus student. The forms, which are supplied by each state, must be distributed before the registration cut-off date for every election, as well as special elections for federal office.

Title IV - Student Assistance, Part G - General Provisions
489. Program Participation Agreements

b) Provision of voter registration forms

(1) Program Participation Requirement - Section 487(a) (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by the following:

(23)(A) The institution, if located in a State to which section 4(b) of the National Voter Registration Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-2(b)) does not apply, will distribute a mail voter registration form requested and received from the State to each student enrolled in a degree or certificate program and physically in attendance at the institution and to make such forms widely available to students at the institution.

(B) The institution shall request the forms from the State 120 days prior to the deadline for registering to vote within the State. If an institution has not received a sufficient quantity of forms to fulfill this section from the State within 60 days prior to the deadline for registering to vote in the State, the institution shall not be held liable for not meeting the requirements of this section during that election year.

(C) This paragraph shall apply to elections as defined in section 301(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(1)) and includes the election for Governor or other chief executive within such State).

(2) Regulation Prohibited - No officer of the executive branch is authorized to instruct the institution in which the amendment made by this subsection is carried out.

Idaho is exempt from the National Voter Registration Act because they have same-day registration at the polls on all election dates. Current voter qualifications for Idaho are as follows:

• A citizen of the United States
• At least 18 years of age on election day
• A resident in the state and in the county for 30 days prior to election day
• Registered as required by law

The following information was provided to BYU-Idaho by the Madison County Clerk and the Idaho Secretary of State for students with relevant information in regards to their Idaho voting rights should they choose to register to vote in Idaho:

The Idaho Constitution (Article VI, Sec. 5) and statutory provisions (34-405 I.C.) provide that no person is deemed to have gained or lost a residence for voting purposes by reason of his presence or absence while a student at any institution of learning. These provisions have the effect of treating physical presence as a neutral factor in determining voting residence and therefore other factors must be looked at. Section 34-107, Idaho Code defines residence for voting purposes.

This section of the Idaho Statutes establishes the concept of domicile (i.e.; principal or primary home or place of abode of a person). Idaho courts have held that "for a change of domicile to occur, the fact of physical presence at a dwelling place and the intention to make it a home must concur and when such domicile is established, it persists until another is legally acquired" (Kirkpatrick v. Transtector Systems 114 Id.559).

The rules of the state Board of Education (IDAVA 08.01.04.005.08) define domicile as follows:
Domicile: means an individual's true, fixed, and permanent home and place of habitation; the place where the individual intends to remain and to which the individual expects to return when he leaves without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere. The establishment of domicile in Idaho occurs when a person is physically present in Idaho primarily for the purposes other than educational and can show satisfactory proof that such person is without a present intention to return to another state or acquire a domicile at some other place outside the state and the person has met any other applicable requirements of this chapter.

Factors Which Determine Domicile

College students must establish, as with all other voter registration applicants, that the locale they seek to register to vote is their domicile (i.e., that they are living in the college community with the intention of abandoning their former domicile with the intention of remaining permanently or for an indefinite length of time in the new location).

Some determining factors whether the domicile has been established for voting purposes by a student, as well as other applicants are as follows:

1. Has the applicant registered to vote elsewhere?
2. If married, where does his/her spouse reside?
3. Where does the applicant keep his/her personal property?
4. Does the applicant have any community ties to the locale he/she claims as his/her domicile (i.e., membership in a church, social, service club, etc.)?
5. Where does the applicant maintain his/her checking and savings account, if any?
6. Where does the applicant pay taxes, and what address did he/she list as their residence on their last income tax return?
7. What is the residence listed on the applicant's drivers license?
8. If the applicant owns an automobile, where is it registered?
9. If the applicant is employed, where is his/her job located?
10. Does the applicant live year-round at their claimed domicile, or do they divide it elsewhere? If it is divided, how much time is spent elsewhere and for what reason?
11. What residence does the applicant list on his/her selective service registration, hunting and/or fishing license, insurance policies, or other official papers and documents which requires a statement of residence or address?

As a US citizen and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is your duty to vote according to your beliefs. Election day is coming up fast, and we need your vote! There are many different voting options available, so register now!

In Idaho, you can register to vote on Election Day with a student ID card. Most other states require pre-registration, especially if you are planning to vote with an absentee ballot. Click the link with your home-state to learn how to register.