FARGO - The first time Craig Nilles voted, he was a high school senior in West Fargo. This year, as a Concordia College student, Nilles says he's casting his ballot in Minnesota, where the race for president is a close one.

"In North Dakota, it is going Republican no matter how I vote," Nilles said. "Why not vote where I can make a difference?"

College political activists say Nilles is part of a growing group this year: young North Dakotans living in Minnesota who say their votes will have greater effect if they don't cast a ballot back home.

Jake Grassel, Minnesota's college Republican president and a Bethel College student, said he is voting in the Twin Cities instead of his hometown of Williston.

Grassel said other students agree that Minnesota's close race "gives them more incentive to vote here because in the electoral college system their vote almost counts more here."

A Democratic presidential candidate has not won North Dakota's three electoral votes since 1964, and observers say President Bush is expected to win the state this year. Minnesota is considered one of several battleground states, where Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry have mounted extensive campaigns.

However, Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer warns that a student cannot vote in more than one state. Two students were prosecuted two years ago for voting in two Minnesota precincts, and the same could happen if they vote in different states.

Kiffmeyer's office compares voting lists with other states to ensure people vote just once. But because Minnesota allows voters to register on Election Day, Kiffmeyer sees more opportunity for problems from out-of-state residents.

"The ability to do that is easy," she said of voting in two states.

She said it also may be difficult to find people who vote in both Minnesota and North Dakota because North Dakota does not require voters to register.

An out-of-state student attending a Minnesota college may vote in the Minnesota precinct where he or she lives. To register on Election Day, a voter must present valid identification, such as a driver's license with a current Minnesota address or a license with an old address and a current utility bill.

North Dakota students have little reason to vote at home, said Mike Obach, president of the student Democrats at Minnesota State University, Moorhead. Obach lives in Fargo and wants to vote in North Dakota, but most students who live in Minnesota prefer to vote in there, he said.

"The consensus is they have given up on North Dakota," he said. "North Dakotans, if they are not a Republican, they feel their vote doesn't really matter."