To the editors:

We are writing in response to those members of our community who are seeking to
disenfranchise Denison students in a last-ditch attempt to overturn the recent Granville Schools
levy vote (see “Granville group questions whether Denison Students voting legally in Licking
County,” November 23, 2018). In doing so, they have elevated petty politics above fundamental
democratic values, community values, and common sense.

Lisa Englefield, Paul Jenks, Paul Rice, Victoria Sugar-Kessler, and William Wilken have written to
the Licking County Board of Elections challenging the legality of enrolled students using a copy
of a utility bill from Denison as a form of identification, even though the Ohio Revised Code
explicitly states that registered voters can provide proof of identity in the form of a copy of a
current utility bill showing the voter’s full name and current address.

The challenge rests on the nonsensical technicality that a utility bill provided by Denison should
not be covered by the statute because Denison is “not a utility.” (In addition to generating
some of its own electricity and steam heat, Denison pays substantial utility bills to AEP and
other providers on behalf of the students who live on campus.) The challenge further
erroneously asserts that the law does not apply to a private college, even though the
memorandum issued by the Ohio Secretary of State to the Boards of Election in 2007 (Directive
2007-06, issued April 4, 2007) and further reaffirmed in 2008 (Directive 2008-80) makes it clear
that it applies to all “colleges and universities in Ohio” regardless of ownership.

Regardless of the fact that the challenge seems wobbly, it is disheartening that Englefield, Jenks
et al. are attempting to disenfranchise those who may have voted in a way they do not like. We
have news for you: that is not how democracy works.

Denison’s mission is “to inspire and educate students to become autonomous thinkers,
discerning moral agents, and active citizens of a democratic society.” As faculty members, we
take that charge seriously. We offer courses that cover the history of democracy and how
electoral processes work. We urge students of all political views to inform themselves about
the candidates and the issues on the ballot. We encourage them to exercise their right to vote.

Both the United States Constitution and Ohio election law give college students the right to
vote either by casting an absentee ballot in their home state or by registering to vote in the
state in which they are living while attending college. The Ohio Revised Code states that a
residence is that place “in which the person's habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the
person is absent, the person has the intention of returning.”

This definition has long been interpreted to include college residence halls. In 1972 (Dunn v.
Blumstein), the US Supreme Court ruled that durational residency requirements violate the
Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1986, in a case brought by SUNY
Purchase students against the Westchester Board of Elections (Williams v. Salerno), the courts
upheld the right of students to vote in their college community on the grounds that a campus
dormitory meets the residency requirement.

Denison students live, work, shop, volunteer, earn income, pay taxes, attend religious services,
and plan and attend events in our community. They contribute over 50,000 hours per year
volunteering in the local schools, shelters, food pantries, and day care centers; they serve as
volunteer firefighters and EMTs. They babysit, pet sit, and staff our after-school programs. They
work in and support our local restaurants and businesses. Students pay taxes on the income
they earn from jobs both on and off campus, which totals over $2.3 million per year. Denison
University is the fifth largest employer in Licking County and a major donor to local civic
organizations. A thriving college means a thriving community. Our property values and the
income on which we pay our taxes depend upon it.

U.S. law gives us the right to vote on issues (including those that may not directly affect us) in
the place we live. We urge you to affirm our fundamental democratic values and to support our
students and the educational mission of our community.

Signed:

Margot Singer, Granville

Jack Shuler, Granville
Cheryl McFarren, Granville
Ted Burczak, Granville
Mónica Ayala-Martínez, Granville
Heather Rhodes, Granville
Jessen Havill, Granville
Barbara Fultner, Granville
Sylvia Brown, Granville
Michael Croley, Granville
Gary L Baker, Granville
Suzanne Baker, Granville
Sandy Runzo, Granville
Mary Tuominen, Granville
David Bussan, Graville
Anthony Lisska, Granville
Emily Nemeth, Granville
Peter Grandbois, Granville
Charles St-Georges, Columbus
Lisa McDonnell, Granville
Bill Kirkpatrick, Granville
Amanda M Gunn, Granville
Cynthia Turnbull, Granville
K. Christine Pae, Granville
Hanada Al-Masri, Granville
Sky LaRell Anderson, New Albany
Jonathan Maskit, Granville
Jessica Rettig, Granville
Dave Woodyard, Granville
Geoff Smith, Granville
Rebecca Homan, Granville
Laura Romano, Granville
Melissa Huerta, Westerville
Tom D. Schultz, Granville
Laura Russell, Heath
Jeffrey B. Kurtz, Newark, Granville Schools
Seth Chin-Parker, Granville
Rachel Mitton-Fry, Granville
Matt Kretchmar, Granville
Ching-chu Hu, Newark, Granville Schools
Rebecca Futo Kennedy, Granville
Megan Threlkeld, Granville
Frank Proctor, Granville
Annabel Edwards, Gahanna
Eleni Papaleonardos, Granville
Lance Ingwersen, Columbus
Jordan Katz, Granville
Ann Townsend, Granville
Susan Kennedy, Newark, Granville Schools
Michael Fuson, Granville
Abram Kaplan, Granville Township
Karen Graves, Newark
Sohrab Behdad, Granville Township
Peter Kuhlman, Newark
Mark Evans Bryan, Granville
Andrew McCall, Granville
Dan Homan, Granville
Veerendra Lele, Granville
Andrea Ziegert, Granville