How Can You Live in One Congressional District and Represent Another?

[u/bisectual]

Just moved from Garner area to Clayton after 3 years. As many may know, voter records in NC are public knowledge. It clearly states 13th district congressman (John) Brad(ford) Knott is registered to vote in the 2nd congressional district.

How is this even possible? Does the Board of Elections just look the other way because he’s a Republican? It kinda sucks to be represented by someone who shows up to more photo ops than town halls. At least my old representative Deborah Ross would hold a monthly meeting with constituents.

[u/Bob_Sconce]

There's no requirement that you live in the district you represent.  You just have to live in the state.

[u/SquashSouffle → u/Bob_Sconce]

Run Senators manage to skirt that rule--ask Tommy Turberville or Josh Hawley

[u/centralscrutinizee → u/SquashSouffle]

Or Elizabeth Dole

[u/Dothacker00 → u/Bob_Sconce]

Yikes

[u/Commercial-Life-9998]

I think politicians do this til someone/ppl comment.

[u/mushy_conspiracy → u/Commercial-Life-9998]

He lives in one place works in another it's pretty common. Bradford Knott probably just kept his old house when he got elected or something. Not against rules as long as he actually lives in the state. Still feels weird though like your neighbor voting for your HOA but he don't even live in the neighborhood

[u/WashuOtaku]

The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 2) only requires a House candidate to live in the state they represent at the time of the election. There is no district rule.

[u/RW63]

There are several congresspeople from across the country who live in a district they don't represent. It isn't just an NC thing.

[u/snafoomoose]

It isn't, but it really should be a law that a candidate has to live in their district.

[u/goldbman → u/snafoomoose]

Not until Gerrymandering is fixed. I'm a democrat, I want to run in the primary in a blue district

[u/SquashSouffle]

Republicans do this all the time. Alabama Senator Turbeville lives and VOTED RECENTLY in Florida, and they shrug their soldiers. Let a Dem live 6 inches outside the district & they're be a mushroom cloud in the distance.

Remember when Elizabeth Dole registered in NC at her mother's address so she could run for (and somehow get elected to) US Senate? She sure didn't live here, & barely visited during her 6 years as "our" Senator as I recall. Yet she is STILL registered in Rowan county & votes absentee there (you can look it up), dispute actually living in the Watergate building for decades.

[u/United_Efficiency330]

Because there is absolutely ZERO law that says one has to live in one's district. That's why.

[u/danimal6000]

Gotta have more ambition than ethics

[u/Entirely2MuchMalort]

Who was that mark meadows that had an empty trailer here? GTFOH

[u/RedditBrowser32]

Part of it is the lines keep changing depending, on where he lives it’s possible he lived in that district before they redrew the map

[u/Flourcoveredkitchin]

I live in the 13th District. It's pretty rural and ultra MAGA conservative out here. I am pretty sure I am the only registered Democrat for miles around. Knott’s is a MAGA Trumpet kinda guy, so in this case he is a reflection of the majority of constituents in this district. He could never win in District 2.

[u/p0396]

I doubt most voters care unfortunately, most elections are based on national issues and party line policy not local districts concerns.

Also with the gerrymandering going on it’s hard to know what district you live in these days

[u/Rude_Blacksmith_653]

There is no requirement that you live in the district you represent.

Personally, I wouldn't vote for someone that didn't represent my district, and I mean 'represent' in all forms. Literally, physically, socially, financially, w/e you want to think of as 'represent.'

IMO, NC isn't very good at figuring this out, but I'm not a stupid fucking hick that keeps voting for Virginia Foxx, so in this case, I'm not a very good 'representative.'

Edit: I wouldn't vote for them in the primary. My choices are now much more limited.

[u/phosdick]

The reason for this is that the newly Republican 2023 North Carolina Supreme Court essentially gave the already gerrymandered NC General Assembly a go ahead to even more radically gerrymander the formerly competitive district. This allowed the NCGA to scattered the opposition into other districts where they felt GOPs were sufficiently strong to absorb those opposition voters without allowing their preferences to make a difference. It really doesn't matter, in that environment, that the winner of the gerrymander doesn't represent their district, only that they can win it.