'It is not legal.' Election expert identifies illegal voter registration activity in Truro

Board members of a Truro part-time resident nonprofit organization presented a plan to its members in August asking them to change their voter registration to the town of Truro to exert more influence at Saturday's special town meeting.

David Sullivan, former legal counsel to the state Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division, said the plan was illegal under Massachusetts state law.

At stake at the special town meeting are competing proposals for a new Department of Public Works facility, as well as a housing proposal to build 160 units on a roughly 70-acre plot known as the Walsh property.

The Truro Part-time Taxpayers Association sent an email to members on Aug. 6, 2023, laying out a plan to encourage other part-time residents who own property in Truro to change their voter registration status.

In an email obtained by the Times, Regan McCarthy, vice president of the association, said members should register to vote for the upcoming town meeting “even if only for the next year.”

“Our top goal is to get 200 ‘part-timers’ to register to vote in Truro within the period required before Fall special Town Meeting,” McCarthy said in the email.

Between June and September, 88 people registered to vote in Truro, according to town of Truro data. It's the highest number of newly registered voters in Truro during that timeframe in the last nine years. The town had 2,181 registered voters when town elections were held in May, former Town Clerk Kaci A. Fullerton, reported at the time.

Mass. voters can only have one residence at a time

Sullivan disagreed with McCarthy's assurances about the legality of what was outlined in her email.

“In general, no, it is not legal,” Sullivan, an elections expert, told the Times, referring to the legality of registering to vote temporarily in a precinct or ward where one does not permanently reside.

Sullivan, who lives in Cambridge, said the concept of residency is a legally defined term outlined in a booklet he originally authored for the Secretary of the Commonwealth titled Residence for Voting Purposes.

“You only get to have one residence at a time, and in order to change your residence, you have to do more than just sign a piece of paper — your whole life has to change,” Sullivan said. “The center of your domestic and civil life has to be where you are a resident.”

Encouraging people to register illegally is a crime, Sullivan said, and is designated as aiding and abetting. He said criminality, however, is predicated on the parties involved knowing what they are doing is illegal.

“If you don't know that you are ineligible (to vote), then it's not a crime,” he said. “But a court could still throw out your vote and, would throw out your vote if the court determined that you are not a legal resident.”

Truro Town Manager Darrin Tangeman said it was disconcerting to see misinformation regarding voter registration circulating throughout the town. He said people who were misinformed about the registration process are encouraged to reconsider their intent to vote.

“We want to encourage participation in the town meeting and our elections, but we want to encourage people to do it legally and legitimately with the intent of becoming a Truro resident,” Tangeman said. “It's very concerning that we, as a town, are having to address the integrity of our elections and our democracy … with this voter registration strategy being distributed around town.”

The Truro association's aim was 'entirely permissible voter registration activity'

The association had retained a lawyer who advised them not to broadcast their efforts publicly, McCarthy said in the August email, adding it was to avoid the attention of “the existing political machine” who may intend to stop them from having a voice in Truro governance.

The association's aim was simply to encourage people to vote, Anthony Garrett, president of the Truro Part-time Resident Taxpayers Association, said in a written statement, adding their strategy was "entirely permissible voter registration activity." The law does not outline a time period for which it is necessary to declare residency for voting purposes, he said.

"In other words, it is legal for voters to declare 'home' where they believe home to be in the Commonwealth and to do so at any time," Garrett said in the statement. "And then they have a right to vote where their home is."

He said the group consulted the State Elections Office before taking part in voter registration efforts, as decided upon by their membership.

Sullivan said the association's interpretation of the law is "incorrect," adding it's not the case people can pick wherever they want to vote, as residency for voting purposes has to do with objective facts and not subjective interpretations of where their home is.

"What counts is not where you say your home is, but where the facts show your home to be," Sullivan said.

A call for a district attorney investigation into Truro voter registration

McCarthy responded to a request for comment but ultimately did not speak to the Times.

In her August email, McCarthy outlined Truro town business of significant interest for the upcoming special town meeting. The email, which was addressed to 13 other members of the Truro Part-time Taxpayers Association, made mention of a petition to oust Town Manager Darrin Tangeman, a petition regarding the development of a new Department of Public Works facility and the new Walsh Property housing development proposal.

Several requests for comment were sent to the 13 individuals copied in McCarthy’s email. Only one individual responded, saying in an email they were not a registered voter in Truro.

The two items McCarthy mentioned in her email are among 15 other articles on the agenda, several addressing changes to the town’s zoning and general bylaws pertaining to stormwater management drainage, erosion and sediment control, public safety in regard to curb cuts and building permits, as well as duplex and apartment zoning language.

Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, said the efforts of the Truro Part-time Resident Taxpayers Association might be considered a conspiracy to violate election laws, adding he would consider asking the Cape and Islands District Attorney's office to investigate the matter.

“Our democracy is predicated on the principle of one person, one vote,” Cyr said. “It is deeply worrisome to see an effort by individuals who have much fortune in their lives, who are fortunate to have many residences, subvert the election process of our town.”

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jd__walker.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Second homeowners, part-time residents in Truro voting in town meeting