Are Denison students Granville residents or not?
The 2020 U.S. Census provided another layer on the debate of whether Denison students are truly residents of Granville. The answer seems to depend on who you ask and what you are counting them for.
Readers may remember the 2018 controversy when a group from Granville argued that Denison students shouldn’t be allowed to register and vote in local elections because they aren’t really residents of the community.
A tax referendum for Granville schools passed by 142 votes that year, which received strong support from the precinct where Denison is located.
Denison’s faculty spoke out in support of their students’ right to participate in local elections. They noted the students work local jobs, eat at local restaurants and use local village amenities. The state noted that court cases have ruled that college students can register where they attend classes if they spend most of the year there. In fact, we wrote an opinion at the time saying those students should have the right to determine what their residence is, as it would be impossible to know whether a person’s true loyalty is where they reside for school or where they grew up. Who is to say whether nonstudents in Granville at more invested in the community than students? So we found it odd that Granville gets to ignore these students when it comes to whether the municipality is a village or city.
The 1912 Ohio constitution mandates communities transition to city government when they surpass 5,000 in population. Johnstown passed this threshold with the 2020 Census.
The 2020 Census found a population count of 5,946 within the Village of Granville - far higher than Johnstown - yet Granville will remain a village. Why? Because Denison students don’t count. According
to Ohio Revised Code 703.01, college students are specifically exempted from counting toward municipal status. The only other group exempted is prison inmates.
So Granville simply subtracts the roughly 2,000 Denison students from its total and it falls safely below the city population threshold.
But there is a catch. A separate section of the state law - 703.011 - mandates that a village transition to a city once it surpasses 5,000 registered voters. Under this provision, Denison students could push the village toward being a city. In the 2020 general election, Granville had 4,653 registered voters, putting it perilously close to the city threshold.
There are likely good arguments to be made in both directions on whether Denison students should be counted as Granville residents. What seems incongruous, however, is students get to help select who serves on the village council, but don’t necessarily count on whether Granville remains a village or not.
Transitioning to a city does require some meaningful changes, including how the local government is formed, shifting of responsibility for road maintenance from the state and the requirement to recognize collective bargaining with employees.
Of course, setting the population threshold for city’s at 5,000 is also a completely arbitrary decision. There is no reason it couldn’t be 7,500, 10,000 or not even directly tied to a number.
We understand this is a fairly unique circumstance, but it does give us the opportunity to look at how Ohio treats its college students, and how it sets its municipal governments. This may be the best way, but we encourage officials to provide some clarity before it becomes a problem.