Tom Smith brings anti-student efforts to ANC2E

By: Alykhan Merali (Georgetown 2013)

During last Thursday's special session of ANC2E, several prominent members of DC local politics were in attendance. Among them was former DC Councilmember Vincent Orange, who is currently vying for an at-large seat on the DC Council after failing to to be appointed to the seat by the DC Democratic State Committee. I approached the former council member along with DC Students Speak blogger Ricky Garza in an attempt to learn more about Orange, his campaign, and his stance on the campus plan being discussed that evening.

After having a productive conversation with Orange, we gave Al Edmontson, one of Orange's campaign staffers, a more thorough explanation of DC Students Speak and the goals of the organization. Not knowing that Tom Smith, an ANC3D commissioner who recently defeated AU freshman Tyler Sadonis in a controversial election, was nearby, I mentioned that it was important to make DC college students aware that they have the opportunity to switch their voter registration to the District of Columbia.

Hearing this, Smith approached our group and immediately became combative, beginning by saying that "you would have to be a fool to change your voter’s registration to the District of Columbia." He went on to claim that students would have to change their drivers’ licenses to DC to be able to vote here. I responded by arguing that the issue was far more complex. Although the Department of Motor Vehicles encourages residents to change driver's licenses within 30 days of changing voter registration, this is only required when the new resident in fact plans on driving. Many students don't plan on doing so and even those that do sometimes have this grace period extended to when your previous license expires. Smith was not confident if this was true or not.

Unfortunately for him, the answer lies in settled jurisprudence. In the lead up to 1996's ANC elections in Georgetown, through which two Georgetown University students ultimately won seats, an incumbent commissioner, Westy Byrd, made very similar claims on a poster distributed across GU's campus. In response to complaints from Campaign Georgetown, a student organization leading the student campaigns, the DC Board of Elections and Ethics issued Byrd a desist letter. The DCBOEE later referred Byrd's behavior to the United States Attorney of the District for an investigation of possible criminal voter intimidation.

Unhappy with these accusations, Byrd sued the DCBOEE along with the defeated incumbents Patricia Scolaro and Beverly Jost. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia subsquently ruled in Scolaro v. DCBOEE that students did have standing to vote in the District. The ruling also dismissed Byrd's motion for declaratory relief regarding the claims of voter intimidation.

Smith did not seem aware of this case last Thursday. Moving away from this point to more valid ones, Smith also argued students should not register in DC because they would lose representation in Congress.  We retorted that switching one's voter registration to DC gives students a say in local politics; an area that has a greater effect on students' lives than federal policy. Moreover, in ANC races, which can often be decided by a handful of votes, an individual vote can makes far more of a difference.

Following our conversation, I called Smith the next day to clarify what was said in our conversation the night before. He had no recollection of making claims discouraging students from voting in DC and referred me to the DCBOEE about voting requirements. By the end of our conversation, he refused to speak to me further because I was not one of his constituents and I was "being rude."

Comments (5)

1. 

   Reply By Drew on January 25, 2011

   In case it becomes important, I think the more applicable case regarding Georgetown students’ right to vote is Scolaro v. DC Bd. of Elecs. & Ethics, 717 A.2d 891 (D.C. 1998). The federal district court case essentially rules that the federal court does not have the power to hear several of the plaintiffs’ claims. The D.C. Court of Appeals case on the other hand holds that the plaintiffs did not rebut the presumption that the students were eligible voters, which presumption was created when the students signed voter registration forms.

2. 

   Reply By Douglas Bell on January 25, 2011

   For the record, I transferred my voting registration to the District of Columbia last fall and voted for Deon Jones for ANC 3D07. I was never asked to change my driver’s license, which is still registered in California.