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Students can register to vote in the Nov. 2 presidential election from their Columbia addresses if they include an official government document, such as a utility or cell phone bill, sent to their local addresses.
Gloria Wilson, with the Richland county board of Voter Registration, said students could mail these documents to the Voter Registration office or present them at the polls as a proof of residence. She said several registration forms she has received from student organizations lists the Russell House as the students' residence, which is incorrect. USC's campus straddles house districts 72 and 74, so election officials have to know where the student is living to make sure he or she votes in the correct precinct.
Students who want to vote absentee can visit Harvard's "State-by-State Guide to Absentee Voting" at www.iop.harvard.edu. The S.C. Election Commission's Web site reads that to be eligible to register in Columbia, "Students must demonstrate that they intend to remain in the community permanently or indefinitely."
In the 1998 amendments to the Higher Education Act, the federal government ordered the distribution of adequate registration materials throughout college and university campuses at least 120 days prior to an election.
USC partially fulfills the requirements by making registration materials available through the school Web site and holding on-campus voter registration drives and other promotional events. Last year's Declare Yourself campaign is one example of on-campus promotional events. However, USC does not have an official voter-registration program of its own. Instead, USC's registrar home page displays links to the S.C. Election Commission's Web page, which links to the printable South Carolina Voter Registration Form.
Student Government and student organizations like the NAACP, Students Advocating for a Greener Earth and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance have put together voter registration drives in place of a USC-run drive.
Students say confusion about absentee voting, not any lack of registration opportunities, is the primary voting deterrent at USC.
"You have to get an absentee ballot as opposed to just going to your precinct and voting," said Jayson Boyles, a third-year mechanical engineering student from Atlanta. He said he absentee voting is a hassle.
Rachel Bowman, a fourth-year biology student from San Antonio said, "My main concern is that the absentee ballot wouldn't arrive in time, get back in time, or there would be a mix-up at the office. If I register here I can go to the polls and be sure my vote counts."
Boyles registered a week ago for his Georgia hometown assuming that he had to vote absentee.
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