Orr's heart's in Burnsville

Bob Orr left his heart in Yancey County.

The former Supreme Court justice, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, has lived in Raleigh since 1986, but he's still registered to vote about 250 miles away.

Under state law, voters can live in one city and register in another as long as they consider it home. Individual decisions have turned on where a voter goes to church, whether they get the local newspaper and where they own a burial plot.

After he joined the state Supreme Court, Orr remained registered in Burnsville, a common practice for elected officials who have to work in the state capital.

Though he owns a house and goes to church in Raleigh, he said he gets the Yancey County paper and checks his answering machine messages there regularly. He hopes to remain registered, but he said he'll register in Raleigh if the State Board of Elections says he should.

"I would only switch to Wake County if they say I need to," he told Dome.