DMV computer link could raise voter pool - As Del. Melanie Rapp tries to clarify student voting rights, a DMV plan might help ease the Williamsburg flap

RICHMOND -- A new computer link between voting registrars and the Department of Motor Vehicles could help quell a Williamsburg controversy surrounding the voting rights of college students.

The link is scheduled to be up and running in early February and will allow registrars to quickly compare an applicant's address with the one on his or her driver's license. If the results match, the voter will be approved. "It gives us a very clear line of what is accepted and what is not," said Dave Andrews, Williamsburg's voting registrar. "They have done something concrete to show that this is their legal residence."

In his State of the College address Thursday, College of William and Mary President Gene Nichol credited Andrews with "opening the door very substantially to fuller participation in the political process."

The State Board of Elections has struggled with student applications for years because there are no concrete rules for how individual registrars should deal with college students who want to vote near campus instead of in their home town.

Andrews has taken flak from some William and Mary students for denying applications, saying those individuals should cast their votes back home. Conversely, University of Virginia students have routinely been allowed to vote in Charlottesville, which triggers constitutional questions about voters being treated differently depending on where they live.

The Election Board has tried to establish a standard policy since last summer, but it hasn't put anything in writing, according to board Secretary Jean Jensen.

Lawmakers have balked for decades at clarifying residency requirements because setting a uniform process could have dramatic effects especially in areas like Williamsburg, where students are a large part of the voting pool.

Del. Melanie Rapp, R-York, is trying to craft a compromise in the General Assembly that would clear up the state code and create a standard way to treat college students. So far a solution has proved elusive, but Rapp said her bill could come up in a committee meeting this week if she can find the right balance.

"Every time one piece falls into place, another piece falls out," she said Friday.

State election officials typically don't weigh in on legislation, Jensen said, but they are watching the legislature.

"It would be very helpful for the State Board of Elections and the 134 registrars if there was a clearer policy on college students," she said. "Right now, one of the smart things to do is to wait and see what happens."