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M5 The Chairman recognized Lucius Cheshire, spokesman for the Orange Committee. Mr. Cheshire stated that for an increasing period of time, the question had arisen in both South and North Orange County relative to persons being allowed to vote in Orange County's elections and pri- maries, who were not under the laws of North Catalina entitled to vote in our elections a.s xegistered voters or residents of Orange Gounty. xe stated that the problem is one the Orange Committee is concerned with and certain inquires had been made into the situation. Mr. Cheshire cited the case of Ha11 VS Wake County, 280 NC 600 (1972) of the North Carolina Supremem Court which set forth certain legal prin- ciples which apply to the question of whether or not a student should be allowed to vote in the county where the school is located. Mr. Cheshire read Justice S~arpe's opinion. "Tf a student goes to a college town merely as a student, intending to remain there only until his education is completed, he does not acquire a domicile there. The Court further stated that there is a presumption that a student who leaves his parent's home to enter college is not domiciled in the college town to which he goes. This, the Court said, is an inference of fact based on probabil- ities and the common experience of mankind; at birth, a person takes the domicile of the person upon whom he is legally dependent; a domicile once acquired is presumed to continue, it is never lost until a new one is established and the burden of proof rest upon the person who alleges a change." Mr. Cheshire stated, "in spite of these legal principles, the persons responsible for enforcing the election laws i.n Orange County have allowed students from. outside Orange County to register and vote wholesale. In the November, 1976 election, 528 voted in Country Club precinct in Chapel Hill. This was only 164 less votes than were cast by the entire Hillsborough precinct. Of this total, Country Club pre- cinct's vote of 528, only 132 were dormitories students and gave their addresses as such at the time they registered. Of the almost 400 students who were allowed to register and vote as 'residents' of Orange County only 21 listed any property for tax purposes in Orange County, through the listing month of January 1976, and none of them listed any real property for taxation." Mr. Cheshire continued, "the bona fide residents of Orange County have been deprived of their right to a voice in the selection of their government by virtue of the saturation of our registration bocks by non-residents. We believe that the State Board of Elections should require the Orange County Board of Electicns to purge our registration books of all persons who have not established their residence in accord- ance with the law as stated by the North Carolina Supreme Court or to remove from office the Orange County Board of Elections for their failure to do so." Mr..Cheshire stated that the Orange Committee was present to re- quest the Orange County Commissioners to express their sentiments. "That you agree with us, that the books should be purged of these who are not qualified under the laws of North Carolina to the right to register and vote in Orange County. We ask you to express yourselves in that respect in agreeing with our proposition that the election laws of North Carolina should be followed in that respect." The Chairman of the Board recognized S. Thomas Hollands, Chairman of the Orange County Board of Elections. Mr. Hollins stated that every registered voter in Orange County had the right to challenge another voter, as to whether he has the right to vote. He added that if those persons felt that students did not have the right to vote, those persons _ had the right to challenge that vote. He stated that the Board of Elec- tions did not know how many physicians, farmers, or plumbers were regist- ered, or how many students were registered. That in the Committ-e's examination of the precinct, it was evident that a precinct was chosen with the most students. "If a precinct was chosen from Northern Orange, you probably would not have found one student." Chairman Whitted asked Mr. Hollands if any irregularities were pointed out to the Board of Elections would steps be taken toward corrective action. Mr. Hollands replied, "certainly." Chairman whitted stated that .this Board had been requested to adopt a resolution to support the upholding of the election laws of the State of North Carolina. Commissioner Walker stated, "I would so move." Commissioner Pinney seconded the motion.