THE HOWS, WHENS, WHERES AND WHYS OF STUDENT VOTING IN FARMINGTON

HOW

Out_of_state students can vote in Maine while they go to school here without changing

their residence status. On the day of an election, go to the polls. Tell them you’re a UMF student and give them some I.D. That’s it! What they will do is register you to vote in Farmington for that election and all following elections in Maine.

Remember, you can only be registered to vote in one place at a time. If you want to vote in your own hometown in Maine or any other state, you need to register in that location.

OR

If you are a Maine resident and you still want to vote in your hometown, you can vote via absentee ballot. To do this, you need to contact the town office in your home town and request and absentee ballot. They will send one to you. Fill it out and send it back to them.

WHEN

In regular elections voting takes place on the first Tuesday in November. We vote for members of the state and national House of Representatives on even years (‘96, ‘98, ‘00). We vote for state senators every four years, and U.S. senators every six years. Presidential elections are held every four years. This year is a Presidential election year.

WHERE

Voting takes place in the basement of the Farmington Rec Center on Middle Street. How to get there: Off High Street (the street Purington and Mallett are on) is Middle Street, across from the public library. Just past the driveway for the Mallett school playground, on the left, a big brick building with a huge sign on the front – you can’t miss it. It’s about a two minute walk from anywhere on campus.

WHY

There are many reasons why it’s important for all students at UMF to vote. In the last few years, several different issues have been presented to vote on that affect us as students and as Maine residents. These include

February 10, 1998

QUESTION 1: PEOPLE'S VETO

Do you want to reject the law passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation with respect to jobs, housing, public accommodations and credit?

June 11, 1996:

QUESTION 1: "Do you favor a $4,905,316 bond issue for a statewide library information system?"

PEOPLE’S INITIATIVE ELECTION

A group of people in a state design a law, then gather

signatures on a petition to show support for it. This

proposed law goes to the legislature.

If the legislature refuses to pass it, the bill goes directly to

the people in the next November election, unless the

governor or secretary of state proclaims a special election.

If the initiative is passed by a majority of voters in the

election, it becomes public law. It may be challenged in

courts, and the legislature may amend it during the next

legislative session. The "partial birth abortion" referendum

from last November’s ballot is an example of this.

Maine law requires that questions be organized on the ballot by category as follows: people's veto

questions are first, then citizen initiatives, followed by bond questions, then constitutional amendments and finally referendum questions. There are no people's vetoes or bond questions scheduled to appear on the November 7, 2000 ballot.

The questions will appear on the November 7, 2000 ballot in the following order:

CITIZEN INITIATIVES

Question 1

Should a terminally ill adult who is of sound mind be allowed to ask for and receive a doctor's help to die?

Question 2

Do you favor requiring landowners to obtain a permit for all clear_cuts and defining cutting levels for lands subject to the tree growth tax law?

Question 3

Do you want to allow video lottery machines at certain horse racing tracks if 40% of the profits are used for property tax relief?

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Question 4

Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to allow the Legislature to provide for the assessment of land used for commercial fishing activities based on the current use of that property?

Question 5

Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to end discrimination against persons under guardianship for mental illness for the purpose of voting?

REFERENDUM

Question 6 (PL 629)

Do you favor ratifying the action of the 119th Legislature whereby it passed an act extending to all citizens regardless of their sexual orientation the same basic rights to protection against discrimination now guaranteed to citizens on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodation and credit and where the act expressly states that nothing in the act confers legislative approval of, or special rights to, any person or group of persons?

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Commonly asked Questions About Voting When You’re a Student

Can I vote in Farmington while I go to school here, and still vote about things in my hometown?

Unfortunately, even though being in college is like having two separate homes, a student can only vote in one of them. If you want to stay in touch on the issues in your hometown, you can vote there by absentee ballot. If you would like to have a say in what’s happening in Farmington while you live here, you can quickly and easily register to vote here.

When I’m not going to school here anymore, will I still have to vote here?

Not unless you legally change your residence to Farmington. Registering to vote here, as a student, is only valid for the duration of the time you are a student. The service is provided with to the understanding that students, because they spend most of their time in Farmington, should be represented too, not just residents. When you are not living in this area for school purposes anymore, you are expected to change your registration to your place of primary residence.

Doesn’t registering to vote here automatically change my residency?

No, there is a long process involved in legally changing your residence – one part of the process would be living here for purposes other than education for an extended period of time, as well as changing your car registration, licence, and your permanent address.

Will registering to vote in Farmington affect my financial aid?

The answer, as stated by Ron Milliken, Director of Financial Aid:

Registering to vote will not affect any student aid that has been offered directly by the University of Maine at Farmington, nor will it affect any Federal student aid that is being offered through UMF. Similarly, no Maine Student Incentive Scholarships and no Educators for Maine (formerly Teachers for Maine) awards would be affected by registering to vote in Farmington. There are, however, some rare exceptions where an outside entity like a state scholarship agency or private scholarship organization might either directly or indirectly link voter registration with residency requirements.

The key to getting correct information is knowing how to ask the right questions and to get information from the entity that regulates or controls the terms of a particular type of student aid. Probably, in most every case, registering to vote in Farmington will have no impact whatsoever on student financial assistance that one is receiving. The UMF Financial Aid office does not review voter registration records to match recipients or applicants with registered voters. Again, there are no Federal or UMF student aid programs that affect one’s student aid eligibility because of where one is registered to vote.

For the rare student aid recipient whose eligibility to participate in a state student aid program is contingent upon meeting state residency requirements, one should contact his or her state student aid agency to clarify whether or not the place of voter registrations is considered a determinant of state residency. Students who are residents of other states may want to check further.

For example, a Pennsylvanian receiving a Pennsylvania grant to attend college in Maine is likely to be advises that he or she cannot transport a Pennsylvania state grant to Maine unless the recipient continues to meet all of Pennsylvania’s eligibility criteria.

Pennsylvania would consider one to forfeit eligibility for a Pennsylvania state student aid grant if the recipient established a voting registration in the state of Maine at the time. By contacting the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), a Pennsylvanian can obtain this information detailing any special terms that may be used in establishing or maintaining Pennsylvania state grant eligibility.

The UMF Financial Aid Office is unaware of any private scholarship programs that actually compare voter registration lists with student aid recipients Nevertheless, just as it is possible that certain states may set conditions that either directly or indirectly relate to where one registers to vote, so it is also possible that certain private scholarships may have geographic or residency requirements that must be met. Some private scholarships do have geographic restrictions that require a certification from municipal officers attesting to residency. It is wise for all student aid recipients to be aware of any special terms or conditions that may apply to each type of assistance that one may receive, and to use this information in making decisions that respect the interests of the recipient and the integrity of the programs. For example, the Maine student from Palermo who is receiving a Joel and Annie Walker Scholarship while meeting the geographic restriction as a resident of Palermo should check with the certifying municipal officer about whether establishing a voter registration in Farmington might jeopardize eligibility to be re_certified for the Walker Scholarship even thought he student might consider himself or herself to still be a resident of Palermo.