Sykes: Out-of-state students voting in Maine unconstitutional

It’s unconstitutional to allow out-of-state college students to vote in-state while they are living in university housing, said Rep. Richard Sykes, R-Harrison. Instead, they should vote absentee in their hometowns.

On Thursday, Sykes requested a ruling on the matter from Attorney General Steven Rowe.

The matter first came up last session when a bill to prevent students from using a college dormitory address to register to vote failed on the House and Senate floors. It was sponsored by Rep. Gary Knight, R-Livermore Falls.

While Sykes’ request only targets out-of-state students, Knight’s bill applied to all students living in the dorms.

During the House debate in June, proponents of the bill feared student voting would skew results in local elections. Opponents, however, said the bill was anti-student voting.

Rep. Emily Cain, a Democrat from Orono, the home to the University of Maine, disagrees with Sykes. She said students have a right to vote where they live, according to the 2002 Help America Vote Act.

Sykes said allowing out-of-state students to vote is inconsistent with Maine laws. They don’t pay income tax, register a car or get a driver’s license in Maine, he said, and they pay out-of-state tuition. Also, according to University of Maine System, they are not legally residents. 

According to Article II, Section 1 of the Maine Constitution: “Persons in the military, naval or marine service of the United States, or this State, shall not be considered as having obtained such established residence by being stationed in any garrison, barrack or military place, in any city, town or plantation; nor shall the residence of a student at any seminary of learning entitle the student to the right of suffrage in the city, town or plantation where such seminary is established.”

It’s also possible they voted in their home state as well, though Sykes said he doesn’t know if this has actually occurred.

Cain said this measure comes back to a general discrimination and distrust of young people, who do want to be engaged in their communities.

"If we continue to throw up obstacles or barriers to civic participation, then why are young people going to come here?" Cain said.

Allowing on-campus students to vote is consistent with Maine's open voting laws, Cain said. Also, UMS' definition of "resident" is for tuition purposes only, Cain said. 

Sykes said an exception will be made for students living in off-campus, private housing.

These laws apply in the military, Sykes said. Out-of-state soldiers based in Maine must vote absentee in their hometowns. 

PolitickerME.com has calls out to Knight, and the Attorney General’s Office, with updates to follow.