Two voters question senator’s residence

Deborah Rose of Athol and Bruce Koch of Spirit Lake wrote to Secretary of State Phil McGrane on Sept. 15 asking him to look into whether District 2 Sen. Phil Hart, R-Kellogg, lives at the address listed on his voter registration.

The letter and the questions raised in it were highlighted at a news conference Tuesday held by the Idaho Democratic Party on the sidewalk outside the home listed on Hart’s voter registration.

Hart could not be reached after phone calls to his office, cellphone, and emails to his campaign and legislative email addresses.

McGrane said there had been an inquiry about Hart’s residency ahead of the May primary as well. The office had done a previous investigation and found the senator met the requirements.

The office is now conducting a new investigation in response to the new complaint, as required by law, McGrane said.

“We spoke to him a couple different times and he was able to provide information that was sufficient,” McGrane said. He noted the new investigation has not yet concluded.

The Idaho Democratic Party said they hired a private investigator to look into the matter, and the investigator indicated it appeared Hart may live in his Hayden office, which is outside District 2.

“It’s not the responsibility of voters or a Democratic challenger to answer questions of legal qualifications for a candidate and that’s why a complaint was filed to the secretary of state by both a registered Democrat and registered Republican that live in the district,” Idaho Democrats spokesperson Avery Roberts said.

Roberts said the Democrats were unaware of the previous investigation into Hart’s residency.

Kellogg residents and Hart’s Democratic challenger spoke at the event to the questions they had about Hart’s residency and urged McGrane to look into it.

“I have lived three blocks away for the past 23 years, and I have never seen him,” resident Diana Fields-Brow said at the news conference. “I’ve never met him, never bumped into him at the grocery store or spotted him at a community event.”

The home behind the speakers appeared to have signs of ongoing work around the front door and there were no front steps.

Koch and Rose’s letter alleged the home at the address on Hart’s voter registration “has been under construction for several years, and we have reason to believe Senator Hart is not residing at this location as required by law.”

Secretary of State’s Office spokesperson Chelsea Carattini confirmed the office had received the request to review the issue.

“As part of our review, we check the statewide voter registration system to determine if the candidate is registered to vote at the residence and contact the candidate to confirm where they reside,” Carattini said in an email.

Proof of residency in the district for candidates is largely the same as showing proof of residency to register to vote. Candidates who utilize the homeowner’s exemption on property taxes must register under the home with the exemption.

Hart has served one term in the Senate and previously served in the House from 2004 to 2012.

In 2018, then-Idaho Secretary of State Lawrence Denney found Hart ineligible to run because he didn’t meet the requirement to have been a registered voter in the district a year before the general election, the Idaho Press reported at the time.

Hart had been found ineligible by a district court judge, but the judge later rescinded the ruling, saying Hart had filed in the wrong county and another judge should rule. With little time to go before the election and contradicting court opinions, Denney opted to keep Hart’s name on the ballot for the 2018 primary.

Hart won his 2022 primary contest with 57% of the vote against two opponents and went unopposed in the 2022 general election. Hart was unopposed in this year’s primary and is being challenged by Democrat Tom Hearn in November.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daiy News and the Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.