Fulton County, where Georgia Tech is located, has served as hotbed of election integrity concerns for several years
Parents from states like New York and Illinois are urging their kids enrolled at Georgia Tech to register to vote in Georgia for the upcoming presidential election, arguing their vote could help sway the outcome in the swing state.
Screenshots from conversations on a “Georgia Tech Parent and Community Forum” show several parents from Democratic-majority states saying their child’s vote would matter more in Georgia and they should register there.
“I’d rather have my daughter vote in a swing state than home in Illinois where her vote won’t have much of an impact,” one user in the Facebook group posted in response to another parent who asked, “Why don’t you get your child registered to vote in their home state?”
“Rather have her vote in [a] swing state. Massachusetts is guaranteed blue,” said another parent.
A mom from New York also posted: “GT students absolutely CAN vote in Georgia — my NY son registered there the minute he got to school three years ago and has been voting in every election ever since.”
“…If you live in a solidly red or blue state where your vote doesn’t hold as much weight, registering in a swing state rather than using an absentee ballot lets your vote make more of a difference.”
Screenshots of the topic were provided to The College Fix by one member who questioned whether the tacit was appropriate or legal.
Georgia Tech is located in Fulton County. The county’s website states “out-of-state students or out-of-county students wanting to vote can do so by requesting an absentee ballot from the county in which they are registered to vote.”
Some parents in the Facebook group took issue with the effort.
“[T]his is the rule from the secretary of state’s website. Your student is not a legal resident of a GA county if they are out of state so legally is not able to vote in GA,” one parent posted, and included a link to the state of Georgia’s online voter registration portal.
Criteria listed states that to register to vote in Georgia, a person must be a U.S. citizen, be a legal resident of the county they are voting in, be at least 18 years old, and not be a convicted felon or mentally incompetent as deemed by a judge.
Other parents disputed the notion that out-of-state students are ineligible. One posted a flier from a Georgia Tech student group called Students Organizing for Sustainability CultiVote that stated such students can vote.
The Sept. 19 Instagram post states that all students, including out-of-state ones, need only provide a “GA drivers license or last four digits of SSN.”
The voter registration group appears to lean left, partnering with the Young Democratic Socialists of America at Georgia Tech as well as a social justice activism campus group.
Reached for comment by The College Fix, SOS CultiVote stated: “Out of state students can register to vote in Georgia, although the process is a little more complicated.”
“Residents with a Georgia driver’s license can register online, while those without a license must register with a paper form and provide the last 4 digits of their SSN for identification. They then need to bring their student ID as proof of residence when they go to vote.”
A source who provided screenshots of the Facebook conversation to The College Fix voiced frustration: “This is wrong on so many levels. Some student moved into a dorm in August, and their vote means just as much as my vote, a lifelong resident and taxpayer in the state.”
The Georgia GOP and Fulton County GOP did not respond to The Fix’s requests for comment.
Fulton County has served as a hotbed of election integrity concerns for the last four years. Former President Donald Trump accused its officials of election fraud after the 2020 election.
Earlier this year, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who led the prosecution against Trump for alleged interference in the 2020 election, was accused of misusing prosecutorial funds and for engaging in an inappropriate professional relationship.
Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired for the case, who had limited prosecutorial experience, was reportedly paid over $650,000 since his hiring. Allegations have emerged that Wade and Willis took several trips together, raising questions about the nature of their relationship.
Willis acknowledged in a court filing that she had a “personal relationship” with Wade, who is set to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Oct. 15 regarding his relationship with Willis behind closed doors.
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