Given how all 3 major candidates sound so much alike and the glaring omission of the others by major local media, it's obvious he's one of the chosen successors to the current regime that we get to "choose" from, thus eligible for the same winks and blind-eyes we saw during the last election.

This is possibly the most ludicrous acceptance of an excuse for non-residency voting violation in Multnomah County history.

Tim Scott, "Ok Charlie since you say you were only "away from" Oregon while living in Washington State for 5 years we'll pretend you were able to vote in Oregon even though we've concluded you lived in Washington State and said so on your tax returns"

Now anyone ever busted for residency, voting and filing problems can plea a Charlie.

Hey Tim. At least Kate Brown admires you.

As predicted....

So he's either lying to the tax authorities in regard to his taxes, or he's lying on his voter registration to the election people. Apparently some of this false swearing, etc. could be a Class C Felony, and that is no joking matter. If he's too stupid to know any better he doesn't deserve the office of Mayor of Portland. If he deliberately lied about this, and it's really hard to believe that he didn't, he may be in some hot water from a legal standpoint. Hello out there!!! Is anyone from the Oregon Dept. of Revenue paying attention here? The guy claimed Oregon residency on his voter registration, but didn't pay Oregon income taxes for several years running. Sounds like a slam dunk case against a tax cheat to me, and from what I hear the state is running short on money these days.

Be curious to see if the 3rd Senator from New York files his Oregon taxes....

What a white wash!
The city and county officials should be ashamed of themselves!
I think I will try that double standard and see if I can get out of paying OR taxes next year! I bet not!

The law actually seems really hazy on this. If you google "residence" and "domicile" you get all sorts of documents related to overseas citizens. What makes the Oregon law particularly problematic is that they mix freely "non-resident" in the tax code with "domicile" in the definition of "non-resident."

But it's quite possible to retain a domicile in Oregon while being a non-resident for quite some period of time.

I'm not the lawyer here, Jack is, but swearing you are "non-resident" for taxation purposes strikes me as potentially different from changing residence or domicile for voter registration purposes.

Take it from a tax lawyer: You are 100% wrong. Both laws use the exact same concept of domicile.

Google is not legal authority.

Hales either owes Oregon tens of thousands of back income taxes (on much of which the statute of limitations has probably run out), or his voter registration was invalid.

If he'd at least admit that he engaged in totally inconsistent swearing -- knowingly or not -- people might cut him some slack. But he refuses.

As do you.

Here's Kate Brown on election fraud:

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/04/vote_fraud_is_extremely_rare_a.html

Perhaps the greatest deterrents are the penalties for a Class C felony. That's the crime when someone ineligible casts a ballot, votes under a false name, forges a signature on a ballot envelope or falsely registers to vote. If they do manage to get by our security checks, the Oregon Department of Justice will prosecute and then we're talking five years in prison, a $125,000 fine and, when appropriate, deportation.

But that's all talk. She's not going to enforce the law.

http://swoolley.org/files/reply_to_scott.pdf

My reply is above for them to actually address the issues.

Forget it Seth, it's Chinatown.

Nice try Seth...watch your back!

Keep going Seth. Responses so far are preposterous. Even if legal arguments continue to be made, and other jurisdictions continue the farce, the public knows it is wrong. That in itself is a win. But I think if these government interpretations are appealed ultimately they will fail.

....the public knows it is wrong...

I think the public knows a lot is wrong, they may not know exactly who, what or why...or what to do. Not that those who are watching know what to do as so much is wrong and overwhelming. Citizens should not have to take extraordinary steps because officials won't act in the public interest. This latest round of dismissal shows what a tight control there is in our area.

Thank you to Seth Woolley, for your effort and persistence.

If that were Dave Lister or Victoria Taft instead of Hales, you think the decision would have been different?

Me too.

Yes, thank you Seth.

Stay the course.

It took a bit to oust Bernie, but he is gone.

Stay the course.

Sue the County Seth.

Otherwise its a futile joke. 99% of those who will cast votes have no idea that Hales is ineligible, or that wjat both County election and the City Auditor's office have done is wrong.

Complaints to, and denials from the County Elections folks, the City Auditor and the Secy of State serve only to give a court a reason to give deference to the "experience" and "expertise" of the administrative agencies which administer the statutes, i.e. an excuse to take a dive.

Declaratory judgment action under ORS Chapter 28, and a request for both a TRO, and a permanent injunction barring Mult Co Elections from sending out ballots with Hales name on them, and also barring Mult Co from counting votes for CharLIE .

Do not name Hales or City of Portland as defendants.

Seth, excellent response letter. These issues are so clear as to be ridiculous!

Oh yeah, if this was Dave Lister trying to cheat on his income taxes while running for mayor the hounds would be set loose! The bedwetting crybabies over at BlueOregon would be all over it. But since it is Con man Charlie, they are quiet.

Pretty funny watching the so called liberals lie and cheat their way into power. What exactly is so "progressive" about lying, cheating and fraud? Those attributes seem more Biblical than "progressive"?

Any more doubt that we live in a post-rule of law world?

The most dangerous criminals are the ones dressed in suits and babbling with forked tongues.

OBEY, Citizen!

Unless you're an insider, then you can do what you want.

If Portland elects Hales, they deserve what they get. What a joke. Maybe this issue will change they apathy, but I doubt it.