Lose Your Home? That Doesn't Mean You Lose Your Right to Vote According to Nolo.com
BERKELEY, Calif. – Michigan Democrats have accused the state Republican Party of planning to challenge voters whose houses are in foreclosure by claiming that the homeowners are no longer entitled to claim their homes as their legal residences. Republican officials have denied the charge, which was first reported in the publication the Michigan Messenger. But if it really is in the Republican playbook, they've got it all wrong, according to Steve Elias, bankruptcy attorney and author of the new Foreclosure Survival Guide (Nolo).
"Challenging voters for this reason wrongly assumes that owners of property in foreclosure move out and are no longer eligible to vote in that precinct," says Elias. "In fact," he says, "foreclosure in Michigan and elsewhere is often a long drawn-out process lasting a year or more. During that time, homeowners can stay in their homes while working to reinstate the mortgage or find refinancing. It's illogical to make any assumptions about a voter's residence based on the fact that they've gotten a foreclosure notice from the bank."
Even a homeowner who has moved doesn't have to re-register immediately. Elias points out that Michigan, for example, provides a 60-day grace period for people to vote after they've changed their residence, although this won't prevent an initial challenge at the polls and a requirement that the voter use a provisional ballot that might not be counted.
Elias' book, The Foreclosure Survival Guide, gives homeowners information on the foreclosure procedures in each state, and sets out various strategies homeowner can use to try to keep their homes, including negotiating a new mortgage, filing for bankruptcy, fighting the foreclosure in court, or just staying put until a new owner is ready to move in.
Elias, among others, says it's often best for people to stay in their houses as long as possible during foreclosure. "Since people don't have to pay for their shelter during the foreclosure, they can take the money they would have been paying on their mortgage and bank it," he says. For example, a Michigan homeowner who has been paying $1,500 on a mortgage could save $18,000 by continuing to live in the house payment free for a year -- the period that some homeowners are allowed to stay put after a foreclosure sale.
There are other reasons to hold on, too. "Homeowners facing foreclosure can do their communities a world of good by sticking with the house as long as possible," states Elias. He points out that the blight caused by empty homes could be largely avoided if former homeowners were allowed to stay in the homes until new owners were ready to move in.
Meanwhile, the Obama campaign and others are challenging the alleged Republican scheme in court. They filed a class action lawsuit in Michigan federal court on September 16.
For information about how foreclosure affects voting rights in each state, see http://legalconsumer.com/bankruptcy/foreclosure_voter_rights.php?# . You'll find links to election rights organizations and state-specific information.