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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: Will residency be the Rahmstopper? Emanuel twice purged from voter rolls Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel was twice purged from the city voter rolls in the last 13 months but was reinstated by election officials, who allowed him to vote absentee in the February primary even though he did not live at his North Side address. That's just part of the new evidence aimed at the vulnerable residency issue for Emanuel. It may derail his ambition to succeed his ally Mayor Richard Daley on the 5th floor of City Hall. According to election lawyer Burt Odelson, who may someday be known around Chicago as The Rahmstopper, the case against Rahm involves voter registration notices and what he characterizes as the "mysterious" reinstatement of Emanuel's voting status. "We have the evidence from the Chicago Board of Elections. It's all documented, and we'll prove the case," Odelson told me Tuesday. The argument over whether Emanuel is a legally qualified candidate centers around a rather simple state law that has been in effect since 1871: In order to run for mayor of Chicago, a candidate must live in the city for a year prior to the election. Current state law reads: "A person is not eligible for an elected municipal office unless that person is a qualified elector of the municipality and has resided in the municipality at least one year next preceding the election or appointment." Everyone knows Rahm was living in Washington, working until recently as President Barack Obama's chief of staff. He rented his Chicago home in the 4200 block of North Hermitage Avenue to developer Rob Halpin, who refused to leave when Rahm wanted to move back in. I'm on record as saying the residency requirement is ridiculous and that the talented and driven Emanuel should be allowed to run for mayor. But there is one problem. You might call it the rule of law. And there's nothing ambiguous about it. "Unlike many residency cases, this is an easy one," Odelson said. "We usually have to take a lot of time proving factually that the person does not live where he says he lives. This one is easy. Rahm admits he lived in Washington with his family. His children were in school there. The bottom line is that Mr. Emanuel has not lived in Chicago." Odelson is advising a rival mayoral candidate, state Sen. James T. Meeks, pastor of the Salem Baptist Church. But Odelson said Meeks will not be part of the challenges to Emanuel's candidacy. I assume "concerned citizens" will do the lifting so Meeks' fingerprints aren't on Rahm's forehead. Every year, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners conducts a canvass by mail to verify the voter rolls. This past year, a full canvass was done. More than a million voters were contacted. And the commissioners were quite proud of their work. According to Odelson's documents, election officials twice sent notices to Emanuel's house on Hermitage Avenue. Both times, the notices were returned to sender. Each was stamped with Emanuel's forwarding address in Washington. Election officials do not allow such notices to be forwarded to a new address. The election board purged Emanuel from the voting lists for the first time in October 2009, ruling him an "inactive" voter. But Emanuel's voter status switched to "active" just before the Feb. 2 primary. He voted using an absentee ballot listing the Hermitage address even though the Halpin family lived there and they also voted from that address. Voters purged from the rolls usually present a driver's license, a lease, a copy of a mortgage or other such documentation to be reinstated. "By some magical means, which I think will come out after objections are filed, Emanuel was reinstated," Odelson told me. In May, Emanuel was again rendered inactive. Just last month, he reregistered, using a new address on Milwaukee Avenue in order to vote. Contacted Tuesday afternoon, Emanuel's campaign issued a statement: "The board of elections updates voter lists based on a variety of factors — including whether mail is returned from an address. It appears that Rahm may have been briefly placed on inactive status while he was in Washington serving as the president's chief of staff. He continued to own a house in Chicago and it was always his clear intent to return." Magically enough, there was a prophetic public exchange that went unnoticed between Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, dean of the City Council, and city election chairman Langdon Neal that underscores the political delicacy of Rahm's residency. It took place in City Hall at the Oct. 20 budget committee meeting. Burke was asking hypothetical questions and never mentioned names, but as you read the official transcript, you get the feeling the alderman had a special name in mind. Burke: Tell me the process now for purging voters, and how it's changed in recent years. Neal: Well, we had a canvass this summer. Burke: Now, that canvass, is it by mail? Neal: It is by mail, and essentially works with an initial mailing that goes out to the home that is reflective of our voter registration records. It is a non-forwardable piece of mail. If it then comes back to us as "undeliverable," we send out a second notice. And if that comes back to us, the voter becomes what's called an inactive voter. … We keep a separate inactive list on the poll sheets. They can come in at any time to us at the Board of Elections, or on Election Day, and get their full voting status back. Burke: Well, if I do not send back my notice to the Board of Election Commissioners, I become inactive? Neal: Correct. Burke: What evidence do I have to produce to show I am indeed registered at that address? Neal: Two pieces of ID. [later] Burke: I don't have two pieces of evidence, I call you and I say, I want to be restored, Is that possible under your procedures? Neal: No. No. You have to — Burke: So whoever has been rendered inactive must come in with two pieces of identification. To whom do those identification pieces go? Neal: The judges of election at the polling place. Burke: What about the Board of Election Commissioners? Neal: Certainly. They can come to us at any time. [later] Burke: If it was restored without producing two pieces of identification, is that a violation of your rules; is it a violation of the law; is it a violation of procedure? Neal: It would be a violation of procedure, unless we — unless there is some other reason that we restored that voter internally — Burke: Well, you just told me they have to have two pieces of identification. Neal: That's the procedure, correct. That's the procedure. Burke: So if it was done without the voter producing two pieces of identification, it would be a violation of procedure? Neal: Yes, it would be a violation. Naturally, all this seems very mysterious The Chicago Way. And what I find most fascinating and somewhat amusing is that Burke never once used the magic words "Rahm Emanuel." But I've got a feeling that certain ears at City Hall understood. Like the two ears belonging to the guy on the 5th floor. Look closely at those ears. Do you see steam coming out of them?
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#1. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#0)
He'll never be mayor.
He deserves Chicago and Chicago deserves him.
I'm originally from southern Illinois and down there we don't consider Chicago part of Illinois.
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