Rahm Emanuel was twice purged from Chicago voter rolls, raising yet another aspect of residency questions surrounding his mayoral campaign, opponents said. UPI/Andrew Harrer/Pool |
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CHICAGO, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Rahm Emanuel was twice purged from Chicago voter rolls, raising yet another aspect of residency questions surrounding his mayoral bid, opponents said.
Emanuel's name was taken off the voter rolls twice in the last 13 months. The first was in October, 2009, but he was reinstated by election officials who allowed him to vote by absentee ballot in the February primary even though he was not living at his North Side address, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.
In May, Emanuel was again rendered inactive. Just last month, he re-registered, using a new address on Milwaukee Avenue in order to vote.
An Illinois state law says to run for mayor of Chicago, a candidate must live in the city for one year prior to the election.
Until recently Emanuel was living in Washington, working as President Barack Obama's chief of staff and renting out his Chicago home
Lawyer Burt Odelson, advising rival mayoral candidate state Sen. James T. Meeks, says the case against Emanuel 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 said.
Emanuel's campaign issued a statement Tuesday.
"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," the statement said.
