SD22 special election winner and GOP nominee for November Bill Birdwell filed his response to the lawsuit that challenged his residency on Friday, and, well, color me puzzled.
“It has been Texas law for over 40 years that a person’s voter registration and voting history is conclusive as to that person’s residence,” the Democrats argued in their petition.
In Birdwell’s response, his attorneys at Beirne, Maynard & Parsons in Houston argued the Virginia documents instead show that the senator “lived and voted in Virginia from 2004 to 2006, and obtained a Virginia fishing license, before returning home to Texas.”
Um, how does that refute the charge that he was a resident of Virginia in 2006? Maybe I’m missing something, but if it was always his intent to return, why wouldn’t he maintain his registration in Texas and simply vote absentee? Lots of people do exactly that. When I started college, I kept my New York voter registration, and voted by mail. I didn’t know anything about San Antonio politics or elections, so it never occurred to me to vote there. It wasn’t until after I’d graduated and moved to Houston that I registered here. I don’t get this argument at all. What am I not seeing?
In theory, we should have a ruling early this week. We’ll see what the Court does with it.
Can’t see how Birdwell wins this one. Doesn’t matter how much property you own in Texas, or how much you love it and want to come back, or that all your kin live here – if you vote in Virginia you are a resident of Virginia.