[EL] Romney's residency
Michael McDonald
mmcdon at gmu.edu
Mon Aug 20 12:51:37 PDT 2012
The linked stories explain how Massachusetts weighed Romney's tax returns
about a decade ago when deciding his residency, and a direct quote from Hans
von Spakovsky agrees that tax returns are important evidence in determining
residency status. So, it is a *fact* that Romney's taxes were critical a
decade ago to understanding Massachusetts election law with regards to
Romney's eligibility to run for governor -- it wasn't just the address, he
did not file a Massachusetts return. His tax information may ultimately
again determine if Romney registered and voted fraudulently. But, what we do
not know is if the board will consider the complaint has merits, and if they
do, what information they will request from Romney (if it can even include
taxes, Romney may have previously voluntarily given that information). I'd
still appreciate if someone familiar with Massachusetts could answer the
questions I posed earlier, especially if the board that will review the
allegation is a partisan entity.
Brad, if you want to explain the "host of other reasons" why Ewing was not
an Indiana resident, I would welcome it so that if and when we need to make
a similar determination for Romney or anyone else we will have a consistent
baseline for judgment. The excellent thing about this situation is that we
know so little right now about Romney's situation, which makes it a rare
opportunity to have a discussion with the veil of ignorance only partially
pulled back. I truly think that would be an enlightening conversation, since
you've made the claim that valid photo id could deter residency fraud (for a
lack of a better term). To evaluate your claim, we need to know what
residency fraud is, its frequency, and if valid photo id would deter it. I'm
open to your argument since we've never really hashed it out before. I just
see a host of pitfalls since I believe the concept of residency fraud is
easy to discuss, but difficult to define and implement a solution to,
especially since half of it would most often occur by absentee ballot. If
you don't want to have the discussion, I will stop pestering you about it,
with regrets if I annoyed you since that was not my intention.
============
Dr. Michael P. McDonald
Associate Professor, George Mason University
Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Mailing address:
(o) 703-993-4191 George Mason University
(f) 703-993-1399 Dept. of Public and International Affairs
mmcdon at gmu.edu 4400 University Drive - 3F4
http://elections.gmu.edu Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
-----Original Message-----
From: Smith, Brad [mailto:BSmith at law.capital.edu]
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 2:11 PM
To: 'mmcdon at gmu.edu'; 'Election Law'
Subject: RE: [EL] Romney's residency
Michael, stop it.
Ewing was probably not an Indiana resident for a host of other reasons as
well as her home ownership. I have suggested no distinction between the two
cases. What I have suggested is that voter ID may prevent other forms of
improper voting other than voter impersonation, and that idle speculation on
Mitt Romney's taxes (and the address he listed) shed no insight on election
law.
Bradley A. Smith
Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault
Professor of Law
Capital University Law School
303 East Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 236-6317
bsmith at law.capital.edu
http://www.law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.asp
-----Original Message-----
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Michael
McDonald
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 1:41 PM
To: 'Election Law'
Subject: Re: [EL] Romney's residency
Here is what you wrote:
"For example, during the Crawford litigations, plaintiffs offered up a woman
named Faye Buies Ewing as an example of an eligible voter without ID. She
had a Florida driver's license, and residences in both Florida and Indiana.
It turns out on close examination that she probably was not eligible to vote
in Indiana, having established Florida as her domicile."
A woman with a home in Indiana and Florida is "on close
examination...established Florida as her domicile."
Romney's contested residency, without owning a home in Massachusetts, is an
"unsupported allegation."
It appears to me that a different standard is being applied to the two
cases, and I apologize if I appear to you to be making stuff up since this
is just my (perhaps poor) impression. I am trying to understand what the
distinction is between the two cases that leads to your conclusions. Is it
Ewing's Florida drivers' license, because that is what appears to me to be
implied above? But then, you state, "...she probably could have come up with
some type of acceptable ID and voted in Indiana." Which implies that the
drivers' license is not what leads you to believe she was a resident of
Florida.
For me, the standard to apply is pretty simple: differ to the voter's stated
intention, unless there is other very compelling information that outweighs
it. At face value, both Ewing and Romney should be considered residents of
their respective states.
============
Dr. Michael P. McDonald
Associate Professor, George Mason University Non-Resident Senior Fellow,
Brookings Institution
Mailing address:
(o) 703-993-4191 George Mason University
(f) 703-993-1399 Dept. of Public and International Affairs
mmcdon at gmu.edu 4400 University Drive - 3F4
http://elections.gmu.edu Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
-----Original Message-----
From: Smith, Brad [mailto:BSmith at law.capital.edu]
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 12:21 PM
To: 'mmcdon at gmu.edu'; 'Election Law'
Subject: RE: [EL] Romney's residency
Michael, you're going to have to go back and re-read my posts. Right now
you're just making stuff up about what I've said in the past.
Bradley A. Smith
Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault
Professor of Law
Capital University Law School
303 East Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 236-6317
bsmith at law.capital.edu
http://www.law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.asp
-----Original Message-----
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Michael
McDonald
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 12:09 PM
To: 'Election Law'
Subject: Re: [EL] Romney's residency
If you don't see the election law issues, then re-read the stories. An
election complaint has been filed against Romney in the state of
Massachusetts alleging vote fraud resulting from a falsified address. This
would be Romney's second time his Massachusetts residency status has been
questioned, the previous time resulting in the paying of back taxes. The
Crawford plaintiff at least owned an Indiana home, I believe, but Romney
owned no Massachusetts home. His registration address was his son's
(allegedly unfinished) basement, and there are witnesses that claim Romney
was no longer living in the area.
I believe that I agree with you Brad that we should give strong weight to
Romney's judgment as to what he considers his residence. I am disappointed
you are unwilling to give the same deference to the Crawford plaintiff. The
Massachusetts board that investigates the allegation against Romney might
not, either. That is what my questions were aimed towards. Is the board
partisan? Can it force Romney to divulge tax returns; the reporter
approvingly quotes Hans von Spakovsky that tax returns "are crucial evidence
in residency disputes" (the unfortunate angle that ignited the flames, but
also raises the importance of the story since it fits into an existing
meme)? What information would it release and would it do so before the
November election?
We have the following election law issues: vote fraud, residency status, and
partisan election administration. It is not the first time we've discussed
where a candidate or elected official allegedly falsified their registration
address.
I hope Brad's label of "taxers" was not leveled at me since I never offered
an opinion about Romney's tax returns. I just assume the issue has become
politicized, which is why I am interested in my questions about the
Massachusetts board. Labeling people as "taxers" does nothing to help the
discourse here. I recall some time ago conservatives on the list were
outraged at the label "tea baggers" (I apologize for saying it, as I do not
call Tea Party activists by that name) and I thought we agreed that we would
stop calling people names that they do not call themselves. I've got a good
comeback to "taxers" -- "tax evaders" -- but do we really need to go there?
Perhaps the rule should be if you need to put it in scare quotes, think
twice about writing it. If I've been guilty of it in the past, I apologize.
This is a plea for self-censorship. Everyone is free to write what they
want, of course, but we will lose more people like Keith Gaddie to the
detriment to us all. Sometimes, I think that is a purpose: to shut this
list-serve down by making it so toxic no one wants to read it (anyone else
watch Newsroom?).
============
Dr. Michael P. McDonald
Associate Professor, George Mason University Non-Resident Senior Fellow,
Brookings Institution
Mailing address:
(o) 703-993-4191 George Mason University
(f) 703-993-1399 Dept. of Public and International Affairs
mmcdon at gmu.edu 4400 University Drive - 3F4
http://elections.gmu.edu Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
-----Original Message-----
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Smith,
Brad
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 9:26 AM
To: 'Election Law'
Subject: Re: [EL] Romney's residency
"Now that
the veil of ignorance has been peeled away at bit, I wonder if Brad Smith
has further thoughts about the use of photo id to establish residency?"
- No, I think what I wrote in another thread is accurate. I wrote that voter
ID laws can prevent ineligible persons from voting in situations other than
voter impersonation fraud. I don't see that anything Michael writes contests
that or would give me pause for further thoughts on that point. I also wrote
that that function didn't necessarily justify voter photo ID laws. I don't
see anything Michael writes that contests that, or would give me pause for
further thoughts on that subject.
By the way, my thoughts were on the use of photo ID as one form of evidence
regarding residency, not that having an ID from a state "establish[ed]
residency," a small but important difference.
If Romney's candidacy does nothing more than trim back the ridiculous idea
that candidates must release their tax returns for umpteen plus one years,
he will have done the nation a service.
"Truthers:" Those who believe the U.S. Government was behind, or
collaborated in, the attacks of 9/11/01, and demand that the government
disprove their unsupported allegations.
"Birthers:" Those who insist that Barack Obama was born outside the U.S.,
and demand that the President disprove their unsupported allegations.
"Taxers:" Those who insist that a failure to publicly release one's tax
return is evidence of wrongdoing - including, perhaps, voting illegally -
and demand that Governor Romney disprove their unsupported allegations.
I've little interest in any of the three categories, and really see no
connection to election law in such speculative allegations.
Bradley A. Smith
Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault
Professor of Law
Capital University Law School
303 E. Broad St.
Columbus, OH 43215
614.236.6317
http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx
________________________________________
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] on behalf of Michael
McDonald [mmcdon at gmu.edu]
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 8:53 AM
To: 'Election Law'
Subject: [EL] Romney's residency
Unfortunately, the thread on Romney's tax returns quickly diverted away from
the election law issues that were in the original story.
To recap the original story, Romney claimed on a voter registration
application that he lived in the basement of his son's Massachusetts home,
and voted from that address in the 2010 special election to replace Ted
Kennedy. The original story that Rick posted cited interviews of locals who
claimed Romney did not live in Massachusetts at that time. Additional
reporting in this story investigated home assessment records that indicate
the basement was unfinished at the time Romney claimed residence:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/brendancoffey/2011/06/15/did-mitt-romney-live-in
-his-sons-unfinished-basement-last-year/
A complaint has been filed by Romney's Republican primary opponent Fred
Karger with Massachusetts election officials alleging Romney committed vote
fraud.
However you feel about Karger, Romney, and Obama, I suspect that we will see
more of this story for many political reasons that would divert attention
away from the specific election law issues. But I would like to bring up the
election law issues for the very reason that we may hear more about the
story:
- What is the governing body in Massachusetts for these sorts of
allegations? It is not described in the stories. Is it a partisan body?
- Can Massachusetts election officials demand to see Romney's tax returns to
establish his residency as part of their formal investigation? They did so
previously when Romney moved to Utah for the Olympics and then later claimed
Massachusetts residency for his gubernatorial run. Massachusetts law
requires seven years of uninterrupted residence to run for governor. Romney
ultimately settled the issue by paying back state taxes. I do not think that
the election officials would publicly release what may be turned over to
them, but (as the quickly devolving discourse on the list indicates) it may
be damaging to Romney if they cite a discrepancy between his tax returns and
his voter registration as a cause for action.
- What sort of time table might the Massachusetts election officials operate
by? I.e., is it possible that they would release findings before November?
- Prior to this story, we were coincidentally discussing residency. Now that
the veil of ignorance has been peeled away at bit, I wonder if Brad Smith
has further thoughts about the use of photo id to establish residency? Brad
alleged information provided by a Crawford plaintiff revealed she likely
lived in Florida, not Indiana. Applying a similar standard, was Romney
likely a resident of Massachusetts given that he claims to have lived in his
son's basement even though he owned multi-million dollar homes in other
states? I believe that Romney has the right, as the courts have affirmed for
students and others, to determine his residence based on where he intends to
live. A state-issued photo identification is secondary to a person's
intention, and is not really proof since the id could be fraudulently
obtained. If I were on the board that will evaluate the vote fraud
allegation, I would weigh Romney's personal choice of residence quite
heavily, which is what I gather the board did when the issue of his
residency previously arose.
============
Dr. Michael P. McDonald
Associate Professor, George Mason University Non-Resident Senior Fellow,
Brookings Institution
Mailing address:
(o) 703-993-4191 George Mason University
(f) 703-993-1399 Dept. of Public and International Affairs
mmcdon at gmu.edu 4400 University Drive - 3F4
http://elections.gmu.edu Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
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