Board decides Lin is a resident

EPHRATA — The Grant County Canvassing Board ruled prosecutor candidate Albert Lin is a Grant County resident.

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EPHRATA - The Grant County Canvassing Board ruled prosecutor candidate Albert Lin is a Grant County resident.

Commissioner Carolann Swartz and state Assistant Director of Elections Katie Blinn explained David Canfield hadn't provided enough proof to convince them Lin had left his Ephrata residence after he started to work for a Poulsbo law firm.

The third member of the canvassing board, auditor Bill Varney, was not present at the meeting due to a family emergency.

The fact Lin was a properly registered voter prior to June, when he started working for the McCarthy Holthus law firm, is undisputed, Blinn said, adding once a residency was established the challenger needed to show Lin changed his residence.

"Once a residence is established, there really is a presumption that the residency continues," she said. "I found that to be very important in this case."

She continued, saying the change in residency involves two questions - are they physically in a new location, and have they made that new location their home?

"So essentially a change in both physical presence at a new location and the intention to make that location their home. An intention, essentially, to remain in that new location permanently," Blinn said.

Canfield presented evidence showing Lin is outside of the county for a significant part of each week, but Blinn felt there wasn't evidence Lin intends to make Kitsap County his home, she said.

"Mr. Lin also did present convincing evidence that Grant County continues to be his home," she said. "For example, some of the evidence, that in my mind, is compelling ... is the fact that his family is here, his son is here, he has been here for 10 years."

She also referred to the Washington state law defining residence, pointing to a section stating people can't lose their residence when they're working out of state.

"If Mr. Lin had taken a job in Oregon or Idaho, this voter registration challenge probably could not have been brought at all," Blinn said. "It could have been filed, but it probably would not have proceeded to a hearing."

Blinn dismissed the comparisons to the case of a Island County sheriff's candidate and a Wenatchee mayor's candidate.

"In both of those cases, the voters (and) candidates were, the courts concluded, pretending to move to another location to register to vote," she said. "I don't think that's the scenario here. I suppose someone could make that argument if Mr. Lin was trying to run for office in Kitsap County, but he's not."

Swartz agreed with Blinn, saying the cases she reviewed seemed to be the reverse of what was happening here.

"I do not feel the evidence really supported the idea that Mr. Lin had established residency over in Kitsap County," she said. "It was stated during the original hearing, he looked for employment here in the county and he couldn't find it and, yet, we all have to live and work."

It's common for people to work in a different area than where they are registered, Swartz said, adding she couldn't judge what Lin intended to do.

Canfield's attorney Nick Wallace stated he wouldn't appeal the decision, since he was not able to question Lin at the hearing.

"He skipped the hearing because my client would have been afforded the opportunity to question him," he stated. "My client would have been able to present clear and convincing evidence of Mr. Lin's intent if Mr. Lin had been forced to answer questions."

Lin's attorney Lyliane Couture said the board made the right decision, based on the law and the facts and the information they were presented.

"The law says there's a presumption of residency and Mr. Canfield can't overcome that presumption. As Ms. Blinn said, the pictures of what they're saying is his residence show an empty shell of an apartment, not a home. His home is here. His family is here. His son is here and they found that to be compelling evidence of where he lives."