Ballot-box shopping

This American Prospect article takes a pretty liberal definition of the word "disenfranchisement." It decries efforts to dictate to college students where they'll be voting, not whether. This issue has affected me -- for four years I went to school in Illinois but lived in Wisconsin over the summers, so I could pick which state to vote in.

The problem the article doesn't address: I personally witnessed explicit, organized attempts to get students from swing states to vote in their home elections. The current system actually gives students extra power. A law mandating that students vote at home or at college would solve this, and college towns' attempts to discourage student voting have the same effect.

However, there's no fair way to decide which way to force the issue. Many students go to an out-of-state school, but then return home, so they have an honest reason to vote in their home elections. But if you force everyone to do this, college students get no say in the communities they spend nine months of the year in.

It's an interesting issue worth taking sides on, but the story could have used a lot more nuance.