Full-Time RVers Are Blocked From Voting

[Donna D.]

I think we touched slightly on this topic, but here's the latest on ABCNEWS:
Full-Time RVers Are Blocked From Voting

[Robert Brummett]

But the states don't mind taking the license fees and personal property taxes. Governments are critters that occasionally need a smack on the snout.

[David & Leslie]

This is VERY disturbing! As full-time RV'ers we maintain our voter registration in Nevada. We own property in two counties in that state (AND pay property taxes annually). When we stop traveling we will resume permanent residence there. We concur with one person quoted in the ABC article - Dave is a veteran and certainly expects his contribution to protect our right to vote! We gotta fight for this one! L 'n D

[Donna D.]

This is VERY disturbing! As full-time RV'ers we maintain our voter registration in Nevada. We own property in two counties in that state (AND pay property taxes annually). When we stop traveling we will resume permanent residence there. We concur with one person quoted in the ABC article - Dave is a veteran and certainly expects his contribution to protect our right to vote! We gotta fight for this one! L 'n D

By being property owners in a given state, you'll have a much easier time proving voting rights status than those individuals who don't own dirt. I think this article and the problem has more to do with people who are permanently transient. I was planning on being one of those for at least five years... now may have to rethink that portion of my retirement. (I wonder if paying storage fees for posessions would count????)

[Gina D.]

I think I was reading somewhere in the Oregon laws that those with only mailing addresses could use a county courthouse as an address when they vote.

This also applies to homeless folks.

Not sure where I read it, but it was very recently. DMV site, maybe?

[Donna D.]

Oregon Law:

247.038 Registration of homeless persons.
(1) A qualified person who is homeless shall not be denied the opportunity to register to vote.
(2) For purposes of this chapter:
(a) The residence address of a homeless person shall be any place within the county describing the physical location of the person; and
( The mailing address of a homeless person may be the office of the county clerk. [1993 c.493 §104]

[Gina D.]

Yep... thats it.

Seems goofy a homeless person can vote (And they should.. if they are US citizens.. address or lack thereof should have nothing to do with it) but they deny someone who lives on wheels?

I suspect a superior court case could clear that up.

[Donna D.]

Remember, the article I referred folks to was about Tennessee, what I just quoted was Oregon law. Every state has different rules/regulations/laws/tax bases/etc., etc., etc.

[Bigfoot Mike]

I believe that is why many Escapee members establish their Domicile in Livingston, Texas. Then they vote absentee. I’m told the Escapee members refrain from voting on local issues.

[Bill MacDermod]

Having worked the polls in Florida in past years we have to attend training meetings from time to time and they claim to have documented proof of some of the snowbirds who vote in their home state then try to vote when they get to Florida as well. I think until they resolve that issue those laws will become more common among states. Hmmm maybe its not the electronic ballots after all.

[Tom Trostel]

This issue can be a cause of concern for the locals. Livingston, Texas is a town of about 6,000 with perhaps 4,000 voters. I'm sure Escapee members that are registered to vote there far outnumber the locals. Sounds like a recipe for friction.

Tom Trostel

[Bigfoot Mike]

This issue can be a cause of concern for the locals. Livingston, Texas is a town of about 6,000 with perhaps 4,000 voters. I'm sure Escapee members that are registered to vote there far outnumber the locals. Sounds like a recipe for friction.

Tom Trostel

Like I said, “I’m told the Escapee members refrain from voting on local issues.” Only the ones that live there full time vote on local issues.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Having worked the polls in Florida in past years we have to attend training meetings from time to time and they claim to have documented proof of some of the snowbirds who vote in their home state then try to vote when they get to Florida as well. I think until they resolve that issue those laws will become more common among states. Hmmm maybe its not the electronic ballots after all.

Just because some folks break the law (and they are if they vote in two places) doesn't mean that all folks will break the law, and the folks who are doing it likely have property in both states, rather than no property in any state. There's not much technical difficulty in sharing voter registration data bases between states if that's perceived to be a major problem. Some states do that now for DL's and tax purposes (CA-OR-WA).

Florida law, last I looked, allows persons without a physical address to use the county courthouse as a domicile address but the voter MUST have a mailing address and that can't be the courthouse. When I was a FullTimer and FL resident, my driver's license in the computer data base reflected both my mail service address and the county courthouse. Florida law also allowed using a friend's address as a residence for driver's license/vehicle registration.

I did not vote in local elections as a matter of personal ethics.

[peterh]

But both voting and not voting on local issues can have a big impact on local politics.

On one side of the coin, RVers who vote on local issues that they have no stake in may take very different positions on those issues from the people who actually live in the community. What interest does an RVer who lives on the road somewhere "out there" have in passing a tax issue that supports a school or library bond?

Yet not voting can be bad, too. Some "supermajority" laws require both that tax-raising measures get a certain percentage (like 55-66%) of the vote and that a minimum percentage of registered voters vote. So if RVers don't vote, they could draw the participation numbers down and potentially torpedo a local measure that would otherwise have passed that way, too.

I'd never advocate that RVers not be allowed to vote for national representatives, senators, or president. RVers need a voice in their national government, but I'm much less sure about whether they should have a voice in local or state-wide issues or choosing state lawmakers unless they spend enough time there that they really do have a stake in their "state of residence."

--Peter

[Pete Dumbleton]

Well, there are some interesting things about voting, from what I have read. First, in the beginning, ONLY male property owners could vote, but that had NO racial restrictions (which is a basis for folks seeming to need property to be registered), but those conditions have been modified by later amendments and laws.

Second, and I'm not certain about this, but some of the basic voting rights may be federal and others state. For example, some states have a timed residency requirement before being eligible to vote, so if one moves at the wrong time of year, one may not be eligible to vote, even in a federal election, unless perhaps special arrangements are made. As I recall it, when my ex-wife moved from Florida to another state, after consulting with both states, she absentee-voted in FL but had to promise not to vote for state and local candidates.

As to which particular issues and candidates are valid (If I am claiming domicile in a state but hardly ever there, I am still affected by many state issues like taxation, voting rights, vehicle registration, and representation in both state and federal government. And even perhaps in local government, as the folks in Livingston TX found out when their right to register to vote was challenged.

I strongly suspect that when enough FullTimers are affected by voting restrictions, they will band together and work on it, just as some groups have taken up the banner for homeless voting rights. Since the states control the registration process, and there are a lot of them, the voting rights for FTs efforts will have to be case by case.

BTW, I believe the Florida double-vote problem is more likely linked to condo owners rather than FTs because they are the ones with more vested interests in local governments.

[Donna D.]

Laws are made and created for basically two reasons. One to stop abuse of a situation that a "normal" person would not even consider doing and two, to establish rules of conduct and provide a method of punishment for those who choose to not follow the law.

In Oregon, for over 100 years there wasn't a timed residency requirement. THEN, in a small town in eastern Oregon (54 residents) a cult moved in and bought property (the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and Rajneeshpuram). In an effort to take control of the county government, the Bhagwan's minions was found to be busing in transient-type people from all over the state. In some cases, it was found to be a bribe to vote (free meal for a vote... hey, these were mostly street people). Wasco county and the city of Antelope government was turned upside down.

Shortly thereafter, all of Oregon now has a 20 day residency requirement.

[Gina D.]

Excellent point.

I haven't thought about the "Bog Wan"... in years!

Rolls Royce, anyone?

[pjanits]

Just saw this today.
http://www.fulltimerver.com/blog/2007/11/n...ts-for-new.html

[Darwin Maring]

What about these "Re-Mail" places? Do they have an actual address that you can use?

How do people get the Florida and Texas addresses so they can claim residency and get drivers license a license plates?

[Bigfoot Mike]

How do people get the Florida and Texas addresses so they can claim residency and get drivers license a license plates?

In the case of Texas, people join Escapees, then drive down to Livingston, TX. It is my understanding, you need to live there at least two weeks in your RV. While you are there, you take a driving test, license your truck and RV and you are good to go. You are now a Texan. Escapees has a great mailing service for their members. Your new Domicile is Livingston, Texas.

Now if you earn money in another state, you may loose your Texas residency and be required to establish a new Domicile in the state you earned the money. This happens when people work as camp hosts in Oregon, and other states.