A Republican evangelist who wants to represent Arkansas in Congress isn't registered to vote in the Natural State, according to the secretary of state's office. But he's eligible to cast ballots in the Lone Star State, according to election officials there.
On his Candidate Filing Form Affidavit of Eligibility, filed Feb. 22, the Rev. Randall Duane "Randy" Caldwell stated "on oath" that he was "a resident and qualified voter of Garland County, Arkansas."
The campaign paperwork, which accompanied his $15,000 filing fee, lists his permanent address as Hot Springs Village.
Garland County election officials say they can't find Caldwell on their rolls.
"I don't show him registered in Garland County," said Barbara Boley, a deputy clerk there.
The preacher was registered to vote, years ago, in Cabot. But he was stricken from the rolls in February 2011 due to years of inactivity, according to Lonoke County Deputy Clerk Patty Thrift.
"He hasn't voted since '06," she added.
Caldwell, 54, can still vote in League City, Texas, the Galveston County clerk's office said Tuesday. The Pentecostal preacher moved his ministry to the fast-growing suburb, roughly 25 miles south of downtown Houston, more than a decade ago.
The Arkansas native registered to vote in Texas in January 2004, according to election records there. His home address is listed as 307 Oak Creek Court, a tax-exempt house owned by Randy Caldwell Ministries Inc. that is valued at $403,000, according to Galveston County records.
Neither Caldwell nor his ministry owns the home given as his address in Hot Springs Village, according to Garland County records.
Caldwell is challenging U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs in the May 22 Republican primary. The two-term incumbent is a Sunday school teacher and deacon at Walnut Valley Baptist Church in Hot Springs Village.
A spokesman for Westerman's campaign declined to comment Tuesday about Caldwell's residency.
Caldwell could not be reached at his home or cellphones or via email. A phone call to the ministry's finance department was also unsuccessful.
A spokesman for the Republican Party of Arkansas, Stephen Houserman, said he had not been aware that Caldwell was not registered to vote in Garland County.
"If we were to have a candidate that falsifies information on the affidavit of eligibility ... we would consult and seek opinion with our attorneys to handle that kind of situation," he said. "We take our integrity very seriously."
Pepperdine University School of Law professor Derek Muller, who studies election law, said the U.S. Constitution wouldn't prohibit a Texas voter from running for office in Arkansas.
"The Constitution doesn't say you have to be a registered voter in your state to run for office. It just says you have to be of sufficient age and a citizen and an inhabitant of the state at time of election," he said.
"Even if you live out of the state right now, you can move into the state and establish your inhabitancy by Election Day. So that shouldn't be a barrier to the person running for office right now."
Metro on 03/21/2018