Town Conveys Concerns Regarding Residence for Voting Purposes

It has come to the Town’s attention that misinformation may be circulating about the standards for voter registration in the Town. For that reason, the Town has made available a memorandum from Town Counsel on the topic discussed at the October 10, 2023 Select Board meeting and is issuing this note. It is the Town’s intent to share this information widely using means likely to reach a large number of residents, such as posting on the Town’s website and social media accounts.

Town Counsel Memo on Residence for Voting Purposes: https://tinyurl.com/24ya2vmh

Publication from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division on this topic: https://tinyurl.com/2zrnthny

The Town’s concern is two-fold. First, only persons who live in the Town of Truro are eligible to vote at Truro Town Meetings and Elections; participation by ineligible persons dilutes the votes of properly registered voters. Second, there are likely many unintended personal consequences of changing a voter registration based upon seasonal or part-time residence in the Town when one’s legal documents list a different primary residence.

To review, in Massachusetts, a person can register to vote only where they “live”, the place they consider to be their “home”, and can have only one residence for voting purposes at a time. This is not just a subjective inquiry based upon a person’s desire or interest to be registered in a particular town. Instead, the facts must demonstrate that their residence in the town is their home, in that they eat and sleep there, and, further, that the location is the center of their civic and social life. While the question of residency for voting purposes must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, generally persons are not eligible to register to vote in a location where they own a second home that they occupy only part-time or seasonally. This is because the center of their life is located elsewhere, at the address at which they are licensed to drive, insure their cars, identify as their primary residence for their taxes or homestead exemption or residential exemptions, where their spouse or significant other is located and/or registered to vote, where their children go to school, where they serve on volunteer boards and committees, and the like. Unintended personal consequences may result from improper registration, including, but not limited to: voter fraud (G.L. c.56, §§5-8); mortgage fraud; ineligibility for “resident only” privileges like access to programs, parking and the like; ineligibility for minors to attend school in their existing district; and more.

Violations of Election Law: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVIII/Chapter56

Residents are therefore encouraged, armed with this information, to review their understanding of their personal residence for voting purposes and consider whether they must take action to rectify their voter registration status.