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There
has been much discussion about where candidates for the Charlottesville
City Council are registered to vote on this web site.
So what about the residency requirements for
holding office in Virginia?
According to Article II. Sec. 5 of the Virginia Constitution, "The
only qualification to hold any office ... shall be that a person must have
been a resident of the Commonwealth for one year next preceding his election
and be qualified to vote for that office ..." [with the exception of
the Commonwealth's Attorney].
'Qualified to vote' means the person must be registered, or able to be
registered, in the locality in which s/he is running as of the day s/he
files his/her statement of qualification.
According to records at the Voters Registrars office, Blake Caravati
most recently registered to vote in Charlottesville, Virginia on June 16,
1987. Here is what
Blake says about his residency in Charlottesville (electronic mail,
February 5, 2002):
"-Moved to the area in Jan. 1978. I bought a house on Route 20S
in mid-1977 but did not move from the District until Jan. 1978. As I recall
I did not register in the County.
- Moved to the City 1009 Cherry Ave. in September/October 1978. I believe
that I registered to vote in the JPA precinct at that time because I remember
voting at the Baptist church in the November elections.
- Moved to 305 Middleton Lane in October of 1979 and remained registered
in the JPA precinct where I proudly voted for Jimmy Carter.
-moved to North Garden, Va. 'Sunnybank Farm' in October of 1983 and voted
at Red Hill precinct as I recall.
-moved to Keene, Va. 'Plain Dealing Farm' in October of 1985, I believe
voted at that school at Rts. 708 and 20S.
-moved to 510 Ridge St. in December of 1986 and I do not believe that
I registered in Charlottesville until mid-1987.
-Got married on October 31, 1987 ( a really important registration date
for me and mine ) moved to the honeymoon cottage at 301 Middleton Lane in
June/July 1987 and registered to vote once again in JPA precinct.
- Moved to 1108 Little High Street in January /Feb. 1991 and registered
to vote in the Recreation precinct.
- We remain at the Caravati manse on Little High Street today." |
According to records at the Voters Registrars office, Bern Ewert
most recently registered to vote in Charlottesville, Virginia on March 1,
2000. Here is what Bern Ewert says about his residency in Charlottesville
(electronic mail, February 5, 2002):
"I was registered here from Sept of 94 to early 97 when I moved
to Prince William County.
When I was County Executive of Prince William County, from March of 1997
to January of 2000, I was required by State Law to be a resident of Prince
William County. One element of residency is voter registration and thus
I was registered in PWC.
Of course we have owned our house on St. Anne's Rd. since August of 94." |
According to records at the Voters Registrars office, Joan Fenton
most recently registered to vote in Charlottesville, Virginia on August
9, 2001 and she filed her statement of candidacy on August 16, 2001. Here
is what Joan has said about her residency in Charlottesville.
"I've had an apartment in the city since last October, while maintaining
a house just outside. Aside from actually sleeping, I've spent almost every
waking hour downtown. All my efforts have been dedicated to the enrichment
of downtown, so making the committment to run for city council was just
a logical progression" (Joan Fenton, Interview,
September, 2001)
and
"I have resided in an apartment in the city for several years. It
has a bed that I sleep in, a fridge that I eat from, a toilet that I frequent
and no parking" (Joan Fenton, electronic
mail, February 5, 2002).
According to records at the Albemarle County voters registrar's office,
Joan first registered to vote in Albemarle County, Virginia on October 3,
1992. |
According to records at the Voters Registrars office, Waldo Jaquith
most recently registered to vote in Charlottesville, Virginia on July 24,
2001. Here is what Waldo says about his residency in Charlottesville.
"If memory serves, after breaking my foot on the Appalachian Trail
on my 18th birthday, I registered to vote in the county while recuperating
at home, but that may have had to wait until I returned from reaching the
northern terminus in Maine, which would have been October of 1996. (Though
I'd be surprised if I was willing to wait that long -- I was quite eager
to register.) I have no clue of what elections that I've voted in in the
few years since then, but I speculate that I've voted in all primaries and
elections held in the district in which I was registered at the time of
the elections. I don't recall changing my registration to the
city until a year or so ago, so I'll warrant that I was a registered voter
in the county until I'd settled into my current home on First Street. But
I'm not putting any money on that" (Waldo Jaquith, electronic mail,
February 5, 2002).
According to records at the Albemarle County voters registrar's office,
David Landers Jaquith, a.k.a. Waldo David Landers Jaquith, first registered
to vote in
Albemarle County, Virginia on July 23, 1996.
According to Waldo, he turned 18 on July 31, 1996 (electronic mail,
February 6, 2002).
How could Waldo register to vote before his 18th birthday?
Well.
The Code of Virginia provides that any person who is 17 years old and
will be eighteen years of age at the next general election shall be permitted
to register in advance and also vote in any intervening primary or special
election. |
According to records at the Voters Registrars office, Alexandria Searls
most recently registered to vote in Charlottesville, Virginia on August
24, 1999. Here is what Alexandria Searls says about her residency in Charlottesville.
"I was registered previous to [August 24, 1999] in Lynchburg, where
my family has a home that I manage. I would drive my great-aunt to the polls,
and it was a family day. Unfortunately my great-aunt is now in a nursing
home and unable to vote" (Alexandria Searls, electronic mail, February
5, 2002)
and
"I moved into the city from the county in 1995. My favorite place
I lived in Albemarle was the East Range across from the Corner. I have two
degrees from the University, and I will be teaching at U.Va. this summer.
During undergraduate days I lived at 616 Rugby Road. My favorite restaurant
was U Caf. My favorite music place was the West Virginian.
I am not
the plant on council of Falwell, Lynchburg developers, county developers,
city developers, the Board of Visitors, or the Honor Committee. However,
I may be the plant on council of Thomas Jefferson" (Alexandria Searls,
electronic mail, February 6, 2002). |
According to records at the Voters Registrars office, David Simmons most
recently registered to vote in Charlottesville, Virginia on September 10,
1979.
| "I believe that I have voted in all local, state and national elections
since registering" (David Simmons, electronic mail, February 8,
2002). |
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