Students who lived in Virginia before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their Virginia voting residency (i.e., at their parents’ Virginia address), should have no problem doing so unless they have already registered to vote in another state. It may be difficult for students attending school in Virginia to establish residency for voting purposes at their school address. The state has one of the strictest residency requirements in the country. In order to establish residency, Virginia’s constitution and election laws require that the state be both your “domicile,” meaning that you intend to reside and remain in Virginia, and your “place of abode,” meaning the physical place where you live. Virginia’s Supreme Court has interpreted these requirements to mean that you must intend to remain at your address for an “unlimited time” in order to establish voting residency.
