Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California

My right to vote without being forced to commit an act of perjury

Dear Lawyer,

I am a US citizen. My last place of residency was Berkeley, California. In order for my vote to be valid, I have to sign the following statement on the back of the ballot envelope:

�I, the undersigned, declare under penalty of perjury that I reside within the precinct in which I am voting, and that I am the person whose name appears on this envelope. [�, etc.]�

Clearly I am not a resident in Alameda. I called the Registrar of Voter�s office, and all the people I was allowed to talk to (not the Registrar himself, who I asked for in the first place) told me �If you want to vote in this election, the only way is for you to fill in the address you last resided at in California and sign the envelope� (not those exact words).

In other words, the only way my vote will be valid, is if I sign a sentence under penalty of perjury that is clearly false. ????

My question: Can I file a suit against the Registrar of Voters of Alameda Country, California, for refusing to make it possible for me to vote in this upcoming general election? Can I do this from Europe?

All I�m asking for is an envelope to sign without lying. They won't give me that.

Thank you

-sorry for the abridged writing style.


Asked on 9/28/06, 12:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Re: My right to vote without being forced to commit an act of perjury

Elections law is not an area in which I practice. That said, I can tell you that Elections Code sec. 349 states as follows: (a) "Residence" for voting purposes means a person's domicile.

"(b) The domicile of a person is that place in which his or her habitation is fixed, wherein the person has the intention of remaining, and to which, whenever he or she is absent, the person has the intention of returning. At a given time, a person may have only one domicile.

"(c) The residence of a person is that place in which the person's habitation is fixed for some period of time, but wherein he or she does not have the intention of remaining. At a given time, a person may have more than one residence."

A case states: "Registration to vote under California law implies an intention to reside permanently as respects domicile of registrant." Penn Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Fields, 81 F.Supp. 54 (S.D.Cal. 1948).

The word "intention" seems to be the key.

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Answered on 9/28/06, 1:22 pm


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