Roberts: Thorpe wants to bar college students from voting in Flagstaff
Arizona Rep. Bob Thorpe is in rare form this year.
First came his fundraising invitation, featuring Thorpe and Rep. Don Shooter as the “dos amigos” — sombreros and all.
Then came his attempt to bar mention of anything that promotes "social justice toward a race, gender, religion, political affiliation, social class or other class of people” at all publicly funded schools, community colleges and universities — a bill that’s already dead.
Then, his annual declaration of independence from the U.S. government.
And now? Thorpe wants to prevent college students from voting in his elections.
No, really.
Students must go home to vote?
House Bill 2260 would bar those living in “dormitories or other temporary college address(es)” from using those addresses to register to vote.
The Flagstaff Republican told the Arizona Capitol Times that he’s gotten complaints from Flagstaff residents about college students who vote.
“It reduces the local citizens’ ability to vote the way they want when an outside influence, just temporarily in their community, is voting” he told reporter Kelsey Mo.
Voting, perhaps, to raise the city's minimum wage to $12 an hour, as happened in November?
Thorpe said he’s not trying to prevent students from voting.
Of course, he's not. He's just trying to prevent students from voting in elections in his town. Like, say, his own election.
They're not REAL residents, apparently
“The intention of this bill is that they need to be voting in the community where they live permanently. And they need to be making a difference there at that community on local issues that impact them and their friends and neighbors,” Thorpe said.
Presumably, he doesn't mean their Northern Arizona University friends or their neighbors in the dorm room down the hall.
Next up, I look for Thorpe to take aim at people in apartments who dare to vote in his city. They move a lot, don’t you know, and so I suppose by Thorpe's way of thinking that they can't really be described as real residents, even though they're, you know, THERE.
Shall we just institute a state law in which you must demonstrate your staying power for, say, five years before you can vote?
Given that college generally lasts for four years, I figure Thorpe would want you to make a five-year commitment to Flagstaff before you dare try to have a voice in local affairs.
Until then, butt out.
Roberts: Arizona legislator: no more teaching about 'social justice'