Earlier this week, a federal court said it would not overturn a Williamsburg registrar’s decision to block three William & Mary students from running for city council on the grounds that they were not city residents. But two of students still had the option of appealing to a circuit court, which they did. On Friday one student, who lives in Arkansas but pays in-state tuition because he is enlisted in the Virginia National Guard, was granted the right to register as a candidate. Another student was denied the same right because she did not adequately prove residency in Williamsburg while her parents live in Roanoke. The ACLU said it would appeal to the state Supreme Court on her behalf.
The third student had passed the deadline for appealing to the circuit court.
A fourth student was among the original student-politicians, but he opted to drop out of school. The registrar then approved his application to run for office.