Student Voting Project | D.C.
Residency and domicile, what do they mean, exactly?
Learn what it really means to have residency and what that entails...
The Truth About Financial Aid
Students are often warned that voter registration might affect their financial aid. This is untrue for the vast majority of students. Learn more...
Tuition
Registering to vote more than likely won't hurt your wallet. Read more about in-state and out-of-state tuition as it relates to voting...
Taxes, your parents and you
Registering to vote cannot affect your parent's ability to claim you as a dependent. But it could hit you in the pocket, learn why....
Insuring your health and car
Registering to vote will have almost no affect on your insurance, car or health. Read more...
Driver's Licenses and Car Registration
Registering to vote may entail a trip to the DMV afterwards. See why...
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Voting at School
ID Requirements
Only first-time voters who register by mail and whose identifying numbers (District of Columbia driver's license or non-driver ID card number or last four digits of a Social Security number) can't be matched up against other government records have to provide ID, either by sending in a copy of their ID with their registration or with their absentee ballot or by showing ID at the polls on Election Day. Acceptable ID includes a current and valid government photo ID or a copy of a current utility bill (including online printouts and student housing bills), bank statement, government check, or pay check that shows the voter's name and address. Student IDs and cell phone bills won't count as ID. If you don't have ID, you'll have to vote a special (provisional) ballot, which will be counted if the Board of Elections finds that you're an eligible voter.
Registration Requirements
The voter registration deadline is thirty days before an election, and your application must be postmarked by then.
Residency Requirements
Students attending school in the District of Columbia can establish residency in D.C. if their school address is their principal or primary home. Your plans after graduation won't necessarily affect your current intention to be a D.C. resident. If you register to vote in D.C., your signed registration form creates a presumption that you're a resident of D.C., and can only be overcome by specific evidence.
The District of Columbia defines "residency" as the "principal or primary home" of a person. Your residence is the place that you intend to return to after being away. Residency is considered to be domicile in D.C. The following factors can be evidence of your true residence: business pursuits, employment, income sources, residence for tax purposes, residence of family, where you rent, where your personal property is, and where your car is registered. However, if you get a driver's license from another state after you registered to vote in D.C., that may be considered evidence that you don't actually intend to become a D.C. resident.
Students who lived in D.C. before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their D.C. voting residency (i.e., at their parents' D.C. address), should have no problem doing so unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all 50 states, D.C. allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered abandonment of residency in D.C., some judges or officials might view it as such.
If you're driving in D.C., you should be aware that registering to vote in the D.C. obligates you to get a D.C. driver's license and register your car there. You have 30 days after you become a D.C. resident to get licensed and/or registered.
The chief registration official has the initial discretion to reject your registration on the basis of residency; if they do, they'll mail you notice and inform you of right to appeal.
Additionally, any registered voter can challenge your registration if they believe you're not a bona fide resident, up to ninety days before an election. You'll get notice of the challenge and the evidence given in the challenge; you have to respond within 30 days or your registration will automatically be cancelled. Within ten days of your response, the chief registration officer will make a decision. To appeal either decision, you have to request a hearing within two weeks of when notice was mailed to you. The Board of Elections will hold a hearing within thirty days of receiving your request, and issue a decision within two days of the hearing. You can appeal the Board's decision to the superior court within three days. If any part of the process is pending on Election Day, you may vote a challenged ballot.
On Election Day, any registered voter or a partisan watcher can challenge your vote on the basis of your residency. They have to set out the challenge in writing, and the challenge has to be based on substantial evidence individual to you. The head poll worker will make a decision; if they decide you're eligible, and the challenger doesn't appeal, you can vote a regular ballot. If the challenger does appeal to the Board of Elections, a hearing will be held by phone before you can vote; if the Board decides you're eligible, you can vote a regular ballot. If the poll worker decides you're ineligible, or the challenger appeals and the Board decides you're ineligible, you'll have to vote a challenged ballot. The Board of Elections will review your challenged ballot and decide whether to count your vote or not. They'll inform you of their decision, and you'll have another chance to argue that your vote should be counted, and you have the right to appeal to court.
Absentee Requirement
If you expect to be absent from D.C. on Election Day, you can vote by absentee ballot. Your request for an absentee ballot must be received by the seventh day before the election. Blank absentee ballot applications are available on the web site of the Board of Elections. If you mail it, your ballot must be postmarked by the day of the election. Neither your application nor your ballot have to be notarized or witnessed.
Voting at Home
ID Requirements
Only first-time voters who register by mail and whose identifying numbers (District of Columbia driver's license or non-driver ID card number or last four digits of a Social Security number) can't be matched up against other government records have to provide ID, either by sending in a copy of their ID with their registration or with their absentee ballot or by showing ID at the polls on Election Day. Acceptable ID includes a current and valid government photo ID or a copy of a current utility bill (including online printouts and student housing bills), bank statement, government check, or pay check that shows the voter's name and address. Student IDs and cell phone bills won't count as ID. If you don't have ID, you'll have to vote a special (provisional) ballot, which will be counted if the Board of Elections finds that you're an eligible voter.
Registration Requirements
The voter registration deadline is thirty days before an election, and your application must be postmarked by then.
Residency Requirements
Students attending school in the District of Columbia can establish residency in D.C. if their school address is their principal or primary home. Your plans after graduation won't necessarily affect your current intention to be a D.C. resident. If you register to vote in D.C., your signed registration form creates a presumption that you're a resident of D.C., and can only be overcome by specific evidence.
The District of Columbia defines "residency" as the "principal or primary home" of a person. Your residence is the place that you intend to return to after being away. Residency is considered to be domicile in D.C. The following factors can be evidence of your true residence: business pursuits, employment, income sources, residence for tax purposes, residence of family, where you rent, where your personal property is, and where your car is registered. However, if you get a driver's license from another state after you registered to vote in D.C., that may be considered evidence that you don't actually intend to become a D.C. resident.
Students who lived in D.C. before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their D.C. voting residency (i.e., at their parents' D.C. address), should have no problem doing so unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all 50 states, D.C. allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered abandonment of residency in D.C., some judges or officials might view it as such.
If you're driving in D.C., you should be aware that registering to vote in the D.C. obligates you to get a D.C. driver's license and register your car there. You have 30 days after you become a D.C. resident to get licensed and/or registered.
The chief registration official has the initial discretion to reject your registration on the basis of residency; if they do, they'll mail you notice and inform you of right to appeal.
Additionally, any registered voter can challenge your registration if they believe you're not a bona fide resident, up to ninety days before an election. You'll get notice of the challenge and the evidence given in the challenge; you have to respond within 30 days or your registration will automatically be cancelled. Within ten days of your response, the chief registration officer will make a decision. To appeal either decision, you have to request a hearing within two weeks of when notice was mailed to you. The Board of Elections will hold a hearing within thirty days of receiving your request, and issue a decision within two days of the hearing. You can appeal the Board's decision to the superior court within three days. If any part of the process is pending on Election Day, you may vote a challenged ballot.
On Election Day, any registered voter or a partisan watcher can challenge your vote on the basis of your residency. They have to set out the challenge in writing, and the challenge has to be based on substantial evidence individual to you. The head poll worker will make a decision; if they decide you're eligible, and the challenger doesn't appeal, you can vote a regular ballot. If the challenger does appeal to the Board of Elections, a hearing will be held by phone before you can vote; if the Board decides you're eligible, you can vote a regular ballot. If the poll worker decides you're ineligible, or the challenger appeals and the Board decides you're ineligible, you'll have to vote a challenged ballot. The Board of Elections will review your challenged ballot and decide whether to count your vote or not. They'll inform you of their decision, and you'll have another chance to argue that your vote should be counted, and you have the right to appeal to court.
Absentee Requirement
If you expect to be absent from D.C. on Election Day, you can vote by absentee ballot. Your request for an absentee ballot must be received by the seventh day before the election. Blank absentee ballot applications are available on the web site of the Board of Elections. If you mail it, your ballot must be postmarked by the day of the election. Neither your application nor your ballot have to be notarized or witnessed.
Click here for a glossary of terms from the Student Voting Guide.
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[1] D.C. Code § 1-1001.02(16)(A).
[2] D.C. Code § 1-1001.02(16)(A).
[3] 3 DCMR § -500.2.
[4] D.C. Code § 1-1001.02(16)(B).
[5] Scolaro v. Dist of Columbia Bd. of Elections and Ethics, 691 A.2d 77 (D.C. Ct. App. 1997).
[6] The District of Columbia has a "gain or loss" provision for students. D.C. Code § 1-1001.02(16)(E).
[7] D.C. Code § 50-1401.02
[8] D.C. Code § 1-1001.07(e)(3) (2008).
[9] D.C. Code § 1-1001.07(e)(5)(A) (2008); 3 DCMR § 518 .
[10] D.C. Code § 1-1001.07(e)(5)(B) (2008).
[11] D.C. Code § 1-1001.07(f) (2008).
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] 3 DCMR § 707 (2008).
[16] 3 DCMR § 707.4 (2008).
[17] 3 DCMR § 707.17 (2008).
[18] Id.
[19] 3 DCMR § 722.4, -722.5 (2008).
[20] 3 DCMR § 722.7 (2008).
[21] D.C. Code § 1-1001.07. (G)(1)
[22] D.C. Code § 1-1001.07 (I)(6)
[23] Id.
[24] Id. §§ 1-1001.07(i)(6), 1-1001.09(e).
[25] 3 DCMR § 715.
[26] 3 DCMR § 716.1
[28] 3 DCMR § 716.3
