1 / 58

Residency and the Law April 5, 2012 Core Course # 9 Bob Joyce UNC School of Government

Residency and the Law April 5, 2012 Core Course # 9 Bob Joyce UNC School of Government. 5 qualifications required by the NC Constitution (and 2 clunkers). 1. Born in the US or naturalized. 2. 18 years of age. resided in the State of North Carolina for one year No. 3.

dchalmers
Download Presentation

Residency and the Law April 5, 2012 Core Course # 9 Bob Joyce UNC School of Government

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Residency and the Law April 5, 2012 Core Course # 9 Bob Joyce UNC School of Government

  2. 5 qualifications required by the NC Constitution (and 2 clunkers)

  3. 1. Born in the US or naturalized

  4. 2. 18 years of age

  5. resided in the State of North Carolina for one year No

  6. 3. resided in current “precinct, ward or other electoral district” for 30 days

  7. 4. Not a felon or rights restored

  8. 5. registered

  9. “Every person presenting himself for registration shall be able to read and write

  10. “any section of the Constitution in the English language” No

  11. Five Constitutional Qualifications • US citizen • 18 • Resided for 30 days • Not a felon • Registered

  12. The mirror image cases Carolina Beach 1934 Kure Beach 1952

  13. What is residency? The statute: GS 163-57

  14. “That place shall be considered the residence of a person . . .

  15. “in which that person’s habitation is fixed . . .

  16. “and to which, whenever that person is absent, that person has the intention of returning.”

  17. What is residency? The cases

  18. “residence” vs. “domicile”

  19. “[R]esidence [for voting] is synonymous with domicile, denoting a permanent dwelling place, to which the party, when absent, intends to return.” 1948

  20. “A domicile, once established, is presumed to continue. It is never lost until a new one is established, and the burden of proof rests upon the person who alleges a change.” 1972

  21. Actual abandonment of the first domicile Intent not to return New domicile with intent to be a permanent home 1948

  22. “[A] person has domicile for voting purposes at a place if he (1) has abandoned his prior home, (2) has a present intention to make that place his home, and (3) has no intention presently to leave that place.” 1979

  23. “A person’s testimony regarding his intention with respect to acquiring a new domicile or retaining his old one is competent evidence, but it is not conclusive of the question.” 1972

  24. “We have not ignored defendant’s declarations concerning his domicile. We must point out, however, that conduct is of greater evidential value than expressions of intent.” 1994

  25. GS 163-57: “That place shall be considered the residence of a person in which that person’s habitation is fixed . . .

  26. and to which, whenever that person is absent, that person has the intention of returning.”

  27. on a line: bedroom rule

  28. homeless: “the location of the usual sleeping area for that person”

  29. Teachers, federal government service, state government service, elected officials

  30. spouses may have separate domiciles

  31. A student may register at college town, if she “has no intent to return to the student’s former home after graduation.” Need not intend to stay in Chapel Hill afterward

  32. GS 163-57(5) “If a person removes to [another place] with the intention of remaining there an indefinite time and making [that place his or her] place of residence, that person shall be considered to have lost [the old place as residence] . . .

  33. notwithstanding that the person may entertain an intention to return at some future time.”

  34. Three Rules that I Made Up 1. Everybody has one and only one residence for voting purposes.

  35. Three Rules 1. Everybody has one and only one residence for voting purposes. You can own and spend time at two or more houses, but only one can be your voting residence.

  36. Three Rules 1. Everybody has one and only one residence for voting purposes.

  37. Three Rules 2. Once established, your residence remains your residence until by your actions and intent you affirmatively change it.

  38. Three Rules 2. Once established, your residence remains your residence until by your actions and intent you affirmatively change it: • abandonment of your prior home • present intention to make a new home c. no present intention to leave

  39. Three Rules 1. Everybody has one and only one residence for voting purposes. 2. Once established, your residence remains your residence until by your actions and intent you affirmative change it.

  40. Three Rules 3. Your intent counts, but what you say your intent is can be overridden by what you actually do.

  41. Three Rules 3. Your intent counts, but what you say your intent is can be overridden by what you actually do. “We have not ignored defendant’s declarations concerning his [residence]. We must point out, however, that conduct is of greater evidential value than expressions of intent.” Farnsworth v. Jones, NC Court of Appeals 1994

  42. Three Rules • Everybody has one and only one residence for voting purposes. • Once established, your residence remains your residence until by your actions and intent you affirmatively change it. • Your intent counts, but what you say your intent is can be overridden by what you actually do.

  43. 1. Individual maintains an apartment in Raleigh but claims Davidson County as her residence, saying that she pays taxes on her car in Davidson and “that her intention is to eventually return to Davidson County and build a home and reside there permanently.” Can she be a resident of Davidson County?

  44. Answer from the NC Attorney General: No, because GS 163-57(5) provides that if one removes himself from one county to another “with the intention of remaining there indefinitely and making such [county] his place of residence,” he has lost his original residence. In this situation, the individual meets that requirement, the Attorney General ruled.

  45. 2. Individual moves to Washington DC to work for the federal government. That individual retires from that employment and remains in Washington. Can that individual be a resident of Wayne County?

  46. Answer from the NC Attorney General: No, because GS 163-57(8) protects the NC residency only “during the period” of the federal service. The protection ended when the person retired.

  47. 3. Individual lives in Raleigh, working for the NC Department of Human Resources. Can that individual be a resident of Watauga County?

  48. Answer from the NC Attorney General: Yes, under GS 163-57(9). As long as: person started out in Watauga and never voted in Wake.

  49. 4. Individual lived at his old place outside the 15th House district for many years. He owned property inside the 15th district (the “new place”) and just more than one year before the 2006 general election, in November 2005, he began to spend time at the new place, and started sleeping there. Consider these factors:

  50. he got a homeowners policy in November 2005 on the new place • he started paying the electric bill at the new place in November 2005 • he changed his drivers license address after November 2005 • he changed his voter registration to the new place address in December 2005 • he had lots of on-going work done on the old house • one of his reasons for moving was to be able to run in the 15th district • he and his wife spent weekend time at the old place, overseeing work done there

More Related