ALAN MILLER, Special to The Denisonian—

A handful of people campaigning against the Granville Schools income-tax renewal on the fall ballot have used falsehoods and innuendo in an attempt to intimidate Denison University students from voting in Licking County.

This small group of Granville residents calls themselves the “Granville Common Sense Coalition” in print and online ads, and they are affiliated with the national WinRed political action committee, according to its website. 

A university employee said someone representing the coalition placed signs in the Denison student union telling students to “VOTE Where You Pay Taxes. Request your ABSENTEE Ballot from HOME or REGISTER to PAY GRANVILLE Income Tax if you choose to vote in Granville.” 

And the organization placed an unsigned ad in The Advocate newspaper in Newark on Sunday, Oct. 9, that is filled with more of the same, and many falsehoods. Their message came in a text-heavy, quarter-page ad that appeared under the headline “GRANVILLE RESIDENTS SEEKING ENFORCEMENT OF VOTING LAWS FOR DENISON STUDENTS.” 

One glaring error in the ad is a line that says 500 Denison students voted in the November 2021 General Election.

Not true. Licking County Board of Elections records show that 12 Denison students voted in that election.

The ad starts by thanking “the Village of Granville for apprising Denison University and its students on voting legally in the Village of Granville elections.”

False. Village officials provided Denison students with an online “welcome” note in August – and also provided physical copies during a welcome-back event on campus in August attended by the village manager and police chief. The welcome note does not mention anything about voting.

The coalition ad also says that “the Village of Granville recently informed Denison University that any students voting will be subject to the income tax law.”

Not true. A village official confirmed this week that the village did not convey information to the university about voting.

And whether or not they vote, Denison students are subject to the income-tax law. As the village tax commissioner notes, any student who works a job at the university or in the village automatically pays local income taxes – village and school – when it is withheld from their checks. (They are required to file an income-tax statement only if their federal adjusted gross income is above $27,400.) 

The newspaper ad says that “the main objection to college students being able to vote in their college town’s election as a temporary resident is the student’s ability to impact an election that will not impact the student at all, or for a very short term, while impacting the village’s permanent residents.”

Denison students live in Granville for at least nine months of each year for at least four years, which is more time in Granville than that of some snowbirds who spend half the year in warmer states. It’s also more years than some homeowners live here, given job transfers and other life events that prompt people to move on.

Many students are deeply involved in the community through volunteerism and charity work, and many come back repeatedly, donating time and money, as well as spending money with local businesses.

Under the law, students have the right to register and vote here.

The coalition notes in its ad that some local elections have been won or lost by narrow margins, and they suggest that Denison students are responsible for that. Given that individual votes are not public record, there is no way to know that.

The coalition says in its ad that it is taking the opportunity to “educate Denison students so they are not guilty of violating voting laws, be it most likely from simple ignorance of the law, or from intentional voter fraud.”

But their “lesson” is built on lies.

The anonymous complainants say in their newspaper ad that they found that “the last school board election had one seat which was won by 100 votes. Five hundred Denison students voted in that election.”

False, and false. Licking County Elections Board records show the race by five candidates for two seats resulted in the third-place vote-getter losing by 116 votes, and even if the 12 Denison students who took part in that election had voted for school board candidates, their votes would have had no bearing on the outcome, given the vote margins.

Next, the coalition says it did a search and found that “a large number of students were registered in Ohio and their home state, which is illegal.”

The first part of that sentence might be true. The second part is false.

It is not illegal to be registered in two states. Anyone who votes in another state and moves to Ohio and registers here (or moves from Ohio to another state) typically remains registered in the first state. The latest registration supersedes the last one. 

It is illegal, however, to vote in two states. And because that is common knowledge, it rarely happens. But coalition members sought to drive home that point by saying in their ad that, “If you live part-time in another state, it’s a federal felony to vote in both states.”

The coalition ad also says that “in Ohio, you must swear that Ohio is your one true legal place of residence.”

Not true.

The ad says, “That act obligates you to obey all laws of the state and its subdivisions,” which, of course, everyone from anywhere should do.

And then the coalition turns up the volume on scare tactics by saying, “You must file and pay all applicable taxes, surrender any out-of-state driver’s license and re-register your car.”

Pay taxes, yes. Students surrender their licenses? False. Re-register their cars (or their parents’ cars, as would be the case for most students who have them on campus)? False.

Throughout the scare campaign, this anonymous group (even their website does not include names or contact information for the individuals involved), conflate Ohio’s income-tax and motor-vehicle laws with voting laws, and they aren’t the same.

Lately, the coalition has been saying in social media and on its website that voters should reject the income-tax renewal because “the Granville school district Financial advisory committee recommended AGAINST having this be permanent.”

False. Three of 24 members of the advisory committee voiced concerns about the renewal being permanent, according to the district treasurer. 

The bottom line in the print ad is that a handful of people don’t want to see voters renew the current Granville Schools income tax. And they are using lies to try to intimidate voters.

Alan Miller is a 30-year resident of Granville and former newspaper editor who teaches journalism at Denison University.