State Election Law and Residency Challenges

A sworn declaration from Rep. Eric Swalwell’s Livermore landlord, filed March 6 and obtained by CBS News California Investigates, states under penalty of perjury that the congressman has rented and lived at her Livermore, California property since 2017, keeps significant belongings there, receives mail there, and is registered to vote at that address. Swalwell also filed his own declaration noting he holds a California driver’s license and has maintained an active California law license since 2006, reinforcing his claim that he satisfies the state’s five‑year residency requirement for governor. The filings come after Democratic rival Tom Steyer petitioned the California Secretary of State to enforce that residency clause—despite the office’s long‑standing view that it is unconstitutional and unenforceable—and publicly argued Swalwell only "lives in California on paper," while exposing his home address and detailed information about his landlord and her relatives, drawing criticism over privacy and security. Steyer’s lawyers further contend that any ambiguity over Swalwell’s eligibility could give President Trump an opening to challenge a Swalwell governorship, potentially complicating deployment of the California National Guard or access to federal funds in a confrontation with Washington. The declarations are also being used in a separate lawsuit by conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert, who similarly questions Swalwell’s residency after he listed a business address on a campaign form, turning an obscure, rarely enforced state constitutional clause into a live legal and political weapon in one of the country’s highest‑profile gubernatorial races.