Addendum to FAQ

Q. I'm in the armed forces - how would I declare my move to the free state?

A. Active-duty personnel can select a "home of record." This home of record may be in any state, and you are allowed to vote in that state's elections by absentee ballot. However, you may not change your home of record after initial enlistment. If you re-enlist after leaving the military, you are allowed to change your home of record then. There are also regulations relating to travel while on leave.


Additional info from Don Smith:


While it is true that the "home of record" may be selected only upon initial entry into the military, and changed upon re-enlistment which does not apply to officers, this does not apply to "state of legal residence". Or rather it does not restrict one from changing his or her state of legal residence which is the determining factor for income and personal property taxation, voting, and any other legal resident purposes. The new legal residence then remains in effect until abandoned through the overt act of selecting a different one.

I originally enlisted in the Air Force out of Delaware in 1961, kept that home of record through two reenlisments and upon receiving my commission in 1972. I moved to Nashua, NH in 1975 when I was reassigned to Hanscom AFB, MA and selected New Hampshire as my legal residence in 1976. I retained that NH residence status, voted there, and paid personal property taxes on my vehicles throughout the remainder of my military career; losing it only upon my retirement in Colorado on 1 Jan 2000. To this day I retain my NH driver's license, stubbornly refusing to cut all ties to my adopted home.

The criteria for selecting a new "legal residence" while in the military is having a "presence" there and actions demonstrating intent, the most definitive of which is registering to vote. However, it is not technically necessary to actually live there at the time of selection. Simply owning property upon which you pay taxes can establish a legal address and then registering to vote at that address is sufficient. I have also known folks to make the selection using a friend or family member's address which is not actually legal; although I know of no one who's ever been caught out at it.

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