"Does North Carolina have a law where Congressmen are required to live in the districts they represent?" — Dome reader mdougyr
No. No state does.
The U.S. Constitution is the sole arbiter of qualifications for U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and president, said Don Wright, general counsel for the State Board of Elections. That means no state laws can further limit who can run.
Article I, Section 2 lays out the qualifications:
No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.
As Wright notes, that does not say anything about districts.
U.S. Rep. Walter Jones of Farmville was elected in 1994 while living outside the Third District, although the boundary was later redrawn to include his home.
Vernon Robinson of Winston-Salem and Rory Blake of Charlotte both ran unsuccessfully outside their districts in 2006. As with other candidates, they were criticized for not living in the district, but they were not barred from running.
The same is not true for state lawmakers, however.
Under Article II, Sections 6 and 7, state senators and representatives must reside in their districts for at least one year before being elected.
Got a question? E-mail dome@newsobserver.com or post it in the comments below.
Comments
Re: Ask Dome: primary elections
March 11, 2009 - 7:50am — gercohenIn 1915 or 1917 the General Assembly passed the Primary Act to make holding primaries a state responsibility, to make it uniform, and to regulate the conduct of the primary. Prior to that there was a hodgepodge of party run primaries, caucuses, conventions, and mass meetings to nominate candidates. There are some states where primaries (especially presidential primaries) are a party responsibility. Candidate filings fees of 1% of the salary are used to defray some of the costs in North Carolina.
Federal law does not require primaries for federal elections, but if the state does have primaries there are various federal rules that apply, including campaign finance, military and overseas absentee voting and assistance to voters at the polls
Ask Dome: primary elections
March 10, 2009 - 10:53pm — PlaybyPlayWhy is tax revenue used so parties can determine who they will nominate for an election. Shouldn’t primary elections be the responsibility of the parties to fund and determine how they will nominate their candidates? How did that come about and do the parties subsidize the state for any of the costs for a primary? How much does the state spend for different primary elections? Are there Federal requirements related to primary elections for Federal candidates in a state?
Re: Yes but...
March 9, 2009 - 5:28pm — ryanteaguebeckwith (author)You are correct.
"For years, 9th District Republican Rep. Sue Myrick lived in Charlotte's Fourth Ward, two doors from Watt's 12th District home." — Charlotte Observer, March 5, 2006.
— RTB
Re: Yes but...
March 9, 2009 - 4:57pm — gercohen"What about Congresswomen?"
I think that Sue myrick did not live in her district one term in the 90s either.
Re: Yes but...
March 9, 2009 - 4:45pm — ryanteaguebeckwith (author)Hey, I just answer the questions as I get them...
— RTB
Yes but...
March 9, 2009 - 4:40pm — rubyjiWhat about Congresswomen?
:-P