As a lawyer and a resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I have a particular interest in the loathesome Rick Santorum. It is particularly galling to me that this man, who doesn't even live in the state, continues to represent us in the Senate. So I decided to do a little research into Pennsylvania's election laws to see how he gets away with voting here. What I found is some pretty damning evidence that Rick is a criminal.
(Find out why Rick is a criminal in "There's More"-land.)
Section 2814 of the Pennsylvania Election Code (Title 25) says that "In determining the residence of a person desiring to register or vote, the following rules shall be followed so far as they may be applicable: (a) That place shall be considered the residence of a person in which his habitation is fixed, and to which, whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning."
It is indisputable that Santorum's habitation is not fixed in the Penn Hills, PA home which he lists as his home address for purposes of, e.g., his voter registration. First, he doesn't live there. Second, he rents it to another family, who does live there. Third, he could not possibly live there with his family of eight, as it has only 2 bedrooms. Fourth, the residence lacks a certificate of occupancy--thus, it would be ILLEGAL for his habitation to be fixed in the Penn Hills home. For the same reasons, it cannot be said that Santorum, with regard to the Penn Hills home, "whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning." He does not "intend to return" to a home that is occupied by others and that is too small for his family.
Now, you may argue that Santorum intends to someday evict his tenants and retake possession of the Penn Hills home, or that he plans to move in with the tenants (and sleep on the sofa?) at some date in the future. But Section 2814 has a provision to deal with that situation: "(f) If a person removes to another state with the intention of remaining there an indefinite time and making such state his place of residence, he shall be considered to have lost his residence in this State, notwithstanding he may entertain an intention to return at some indefinite future period."
Most damning, however, is the next paragraph of Section 2814: "(g) If a person removes to the District of Columbia or other Federal territory or foreign country to engage in the government service, he shall not be considered to have lost his residence in this State during the period of such service, and the place where the person resided at the time of his removal shall be considered and held to be his place of residence." (emphasis added).
This means that, if Rick and his family lived in a home in Washington, or in some other Federal territory, while Rick is engaged in service as a senator, he would not lose his residency. Rick has chosen, however, to flout the law by living in Leesburg, VA, which is an hour outside Washington. Leesburg, VA is a part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is not a Federal territory.
QED, Santorum is not a "legal resident" of Pennsylvania.
What is the legal effect of this? Under Section 2375 of the Election Code, "[a]ny person who violates any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one (1) year, or to pay a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both, in the discretion of the court."
So every time Rick votes in Pennsylvania, he's committing a crime! He even sent me an email last election day with a photo of him entering "his" polling place in Penn Hills. Evidence of the crime! How can this scofflaw be permitted to walk the streets?
Here's an interesting question: If Rick is arrested and imprisoned for his crime in a Pennsylvania prison, will he become a Pennsylvania resident permitted to vote? I assume (but haven't researched the question) that one convicted of a misdemeanor (as opposed to a felony) does not lose the franchise in PA. Can he get his absentee ballot delivered to him in jail?