FOIA request puts Daschle's residency in question

Now this could be big:

Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) may have forfeited his South Dakota residency last year when he and his wife purchased a $2 million home in an exclusive Washington, DC neighborhood. The Senate minority leader declared the mansion to be his "principal place of residence" when he applied for a property tax credit intended to help DC homeowners cope with sky-rocketing property values in the city....

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Talon News, the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue provided a copy of the April 28, 2003 application for the tax break. The affidavit section of the application bears only the signature of "Thomas A. Daschle." Additionally, by checking a box marked "Yes," the senator agreed that he would be subject to DC income tax. Linda Daschle's signature does not appear on the document.

In signing the affidavit, Daschle declared under penalty of either a $1,000 fine or imprisonment of up to 180 days or both, that the property is eligible for the deductions. The qualification for the tax credit is specifically for a property to be an "owner-occupied principal place of residence."

It would appear that Daschle voluntarily surrendered his residency in South Dakota with his April 2003 declaration. Under state statute, Daschle would no longer be eligible to hold elective office in South Dakota or represent it in Washington.

Under South Dakota law, Daschle's seat became vacant upon executing the affidavit designating Washington, DC as his domicile. SDCL 3-4-1(5) stipulates that vacancy occurs when an officeholder ceases "to be a resident of the state, district, county, township, or precinct in which the duties of his office are to be exercised or for which he may have been elected."

Article 1, Section 3, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution states, "No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen."

For more background, see the Roll Call article headlined "Daschle Hit On Tax Break; Wife Claims ‘Homestead’ Exemption."