# bibliophage - bad call **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 10, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870 "2004-09-10T03:30:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/1 "2004-09-10T03:30:01Z")
Our esteemed **bibliophage** closed [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=275162) on the grounds that registering in a state where one is not a resident is a crime. True enough, but if one actualy reads the OP the question is whether it is _legally_ possible to register to vote in a state where one does not normally live. Not seeing how asking about legal ways to change one’s residency for voting purposes is an illegal activity. As the OP noted, Cheney did it in 2000 and it apparently passed legal muster. George HW Bush lists his legal residence for tax purposes as a hotel suite in Houston (at least he used to). One response talked about how college students can legally register where they go to school. Nothing illegal about any of it. If the thread morphed into “how do I illegally vote in a state where I don’t live” then fine, close it. Locking it down was a premature strangle on a potentially interesting topic. ---
**Author:** ![leenmi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@leenmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leenmi)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/2 "2004-09-10T04:27:01Z")
Maybe it was the second to the last post suggesting that since some states don’t check voter registration too thoroughly the poster might get away with it. I think your pitting the mod just to pit the mod. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/3 "2004-09-10T05:50:27Z")
No, the OP is right; the thread was about how to do something legally, and even offered an example of a similar thing being declared legal in the past. The other thread was prematurely closed. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/4 "2004-09-10T06:18:48Z")
One of my threads was recently closed down for the same reason. I am still pissed off about it. This one should not have been shutdown either. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/5 "2004-09-10T06:52:01Z")
I don’t know. The OP was talking about setting up a PO box. I think that’s pretty clearly deceptive. I’m finding pretty hard to imagine anyone could consider that legally in keeping with voting in a state you are a resident of…unless you were very very very short. Sounded to me like he’s asking is this possible not is this legal. And by the second post he had aready gotten specifiaclly illegal advice. Why not just start a thread asking what are the **legal** ways to change your residence and leave it at that? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/6 "2004-09-10T06:53:48Z")
I have to agree with Bib on this. The way the OP was framed was going to lead, inevitably, to illegal advice. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/7 "2004-09-10T07:12:44Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I have to agree with Bib on this. The way the OP was framed was going to lead, inevitably, to illegal advice. Fuck me, I’m agreeing with \*\*lissener \*\* on something. **Otto** , you’ve given me plenty to disagree with you on, but this takes the cake. You’re so desperate for a Dumicrat win that you’ll defend illegal activities. Shouldn’t surprise me, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/8 "2004-09-10T07:27:02Z")
What the deal is with me…is that as a result of recent events I will probably have to auction my place or lose it entirely. I am considereing moving to another state. Can I set up a PO Box and establish residence there. Should I vote absentee here now and waste my vote. Can I vote at all? I won’t be a resident here or there…another lost vote. I added some extra thoughts regarding possibly using this to sway voting blocks as a hypothetical question. But the OP was sincere in regards to what should I do regarding my vote. I apologize if the OP was out of line. It didn’t seem to be too far over the top when I posted it. WTF…it’s just one vote right? Wouldn’t make a difference in the final outcome anyway. Forget about it. ☹ I understand why **bibs** locked it down, don’t sweat it y’all. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/9 "2004-09-10T11:10:10Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Fuck me, I’m agreeing with \*\*lissener \*\* on something. **Otto** , you’ve given me plenty to disagree with you on, but this takes the cake. You’re so desperate for a Dumicrat win that you’ll defend illegal activities. > > Shouldn’t surprise me, I guess. The sun coming up in the East every morning surprises you, you fucking moron. I wasn’t defending illegal activities. Learn to fucking read, shitstain. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/10 "2004-09-10T20:49:57Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > \*\*The sun coming up in the East every morning \*\* surprises you, you fucking moron. I wasn’t defending illegal activities. Learn to fucking read, shitstain. Not over the Panama Canal. The thread was obviously heading into illegal voting practices. Now go reread it and look where it was heading. While you’re at it, try coming up with an insult above the level of a 12 year old. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Coffee\_Nerves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Coffee\_Nerves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Coffee_Nerves)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/11 "2004-09-11T00:08:29Z")
[QUOTE=duffer] The thread was obviously heading into illegal voting practices. QUOTE] There was nothing in the OP that implied he wanted to do this illegally. He asked if he could still apply for residency in Florida or another state which carries a lot of electoral votes, which is a valid question. A legitimate answer would have been “no, it’s not possible,” without having to close the thread. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/12 "2004-09-11T02:00:49Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Not over the Panama Canal. Oh, the sun still rises in the east over the Panama Canal. It’s just that the eastern end of the canal happens to come out in the Pacific Ocean. 😛 [/pedant] ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2004, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/13 "2004-09-11T02:38:39Z")
**duffer** , you used the word Dumicrat and then asked **Otto** to raise the level of discourse in his response to your personal attack? Do you actually think before you post? Do you try to be a hypocrite? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bibliophage-bad-call/263870/14 "2004-09-11T03:35:39Z")
No, **elfbabe** , you’re not being pedantic in the least. **duffer** , east is still east, Panama Canal or no. Just because the sun rises over the Pacific Ocean for a stretch of land doesn’t mean it magically reverses the Earth’s rotation.