On the Road but off the Voting Rolls

Ron and Leone Teel registered to vote in Bradley County, Tenn., in 2003 and participated in the county's election the next year. But in February 2006 the couple received a letter informing them that they were being purged from the county's voting rolls. The reason: The Teels, who travel full time in their recreational vehicle, use the address of a commercial mail-forwarding service as their voter registration address.

Now, the couple are plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the Tennessee chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The suit alleges that a 2005 state law prohibiting residents from using a commercial address for their voter registration is unconstitutional because it forces residents "to choose between their fundamental right to vote and their fundamental right to travel among the states"—a case with possible consequences for the millions of RVers nationwide. Another full-time RVer, 69-year-old John Layton, is also a plaintiff.

"I feel like we've been violated," says Leone Teel, 79, who is one of 260 registered voters who have been removed from the county rolls because of the law.

The Teels sold their house in 1998 and have been traveling since retiring in 2000. They consider Bradley County their home, says Ron Teel, 71. They each hold Tennessee driver's licenses, and their vehicle is registered in the county.

Fran Green, administrator of the Bradley County Election Commission, wouldn't comment specifically on the suit, but says, "I am upholding the law. It's black and white."