Reports that over 2000 Harvard students were illegally registered for voting and that a special $500 appropriation by Cambridge had been secretly earmarked for Investigation of the alleged fraud were denied last night by Michael Sullivan member of the City Council.

Although considerable numbers of graduate students in the Law, Business, and Education Departments attempted to file their names in ignorance of the law, no more than 30 had been accused of unlawful action Sullivan admitted. As far as he knew he was the only watcher at the election commissioner's office who made any challenge against students in the University.

Solely For Clerical Work

The Councilman stressed that the $500 appropriation made by the city board was purely to meet clerical expenses incurred by the tabulation of voters. It had nothing to do with an investigation of any kind on registration by students here.

The question of registering unqualified residents of Cambridge, such as college men, is an "annually recurring problem," Sullivan said, "but it is considerably worse this year, probably because of Plan E and general political excitement."

Growing out of alleged 'complaints" and "charges" by candidates for public offices that 2000 graduates and undergraduates were illegally on the voting lists, the order for an investigation was reported yesterday to have been made by Mayor John W. Lyons to his chief election commissioner, C. Brendan Noonan.

The law establishing the right to vote on the basis of time of residence was reviewed twice in Massachusetts superior courts. In 1843 it was set down that a student who had a permanent residence elsewhere could not vote in Cambridge unless "he depend on his own property income, or industry for his support."

"We are of the opinion" read the decision, that his going to a public institution and residing there solely for the purpose of education would not of itself, give him a right to vote there, because it would not necessarily change his domicil."