The bad news is that it did NOT include language to better protect full-time RVers' voting abilities.

Many are working to gain better protection on RVers' behalf. The Good Sam Club has assigned their lobbyists in D.C., and top staff at Escapees RV Club is in constant contact with representatives on both the state and federal level, to recruit support for an amendment that will better address full-time RVers' voting rights.

Congressman Jim Turner from Texas wrote this letter to the chairman and ranking member on the House Administration Committee:

"I want to commend you for producing a much-needed, bipartisan election reform bill, and I am pleased to co-sponsor HR 3295, the Help America Vote Act of 2001.

"I believe that it is important that states be required to meet minimum federal voting standards in their election systems, but also that the states should continue their preeminent role in the electoral process in America. HR 3295 accomplishes that goal and will go a long way towards restoring the confidence of the American people in one of most basic rights as citizens, the right to vote.

"I would like to bring to your attention a problem in some state election systems that has not received the same media coverage as problems associated with punch-card or absentee ballots, but one that I believe can and should be addressed in the Help America Vote Act.

"Before the 2000 election, the legal residency and therefore the right to vote of over 9,000 of my constituents was challenged in court based on the fact that they are full-time RVers. These are people, mostly retirees, who have chosen to spend their golden years traveling around our great country in their recreational vehicles. While these folks may not have a permanent, fixed residence in the traditional sense, they still must register their vehicles, maintain a mailing address, do their banking, pay taxes, obtain a driver's license, and of course, register to vote. A recent University of Michigan study reported that the number of permanent RVers in America could soon reach a million.

"The state and federal courts in Texas have thus far rejected challenges to the voting rights of these citizens based on the definition of "residency" in the Texas Election Code; however, my constituents should not have to continue to defend in court their fundamental right to vote.

"Just as states should improve their registration systems, update their voting equipment and ensure that absent uniformed and overseas voters have their votes counted, so should they ensure that the voting rights of permanent RVers are protected. "I respectfully request that HR 3295 include protection for RVers in the minimum standards for state election systems.

"I thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.

"Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me."

I have also written letters to the House Administration Committee and stated:

"We need your help.

"We are asking that the House Administration Committee support HR 3295, but include amendments that will better protect the voting rights of these highly mobile seniors known as full-time RVers.

"I feel certain that, when our forefathers composed the Constitution, they intended the citizens of the United States to be free to roam from state to state without hindrance and that both prince and vagabond would be allowed to take part in elections.

"It shouldn't matter if we own a castle, a mobile home, or only the pack on our back; we should all have the same inalienable rights. No one should be required to choose between the right to vote and their freedom to travel."

Escapees RV Club has issued e-mail bulletins to their members encouraging them to write letters to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, asking them to add language to HR 3295 and SB 565 that would provide further voting protections for RVers. For full details, go to www.escapees.com and look under "What's Hot" political section.

It is our hope that Congress will encourage individual states to revisit their election codes to ensure that legal residency is not limited to those who live in houses or have the intention of being stationary for the rest of their lives.

One person, one vote should be the underlying goal so that all citizens are able to participate in this fundamental democratic process.

An update to the Escapees' Campaign to Protect Full-Time RVers' Voting Rights

Editors note: Just prior to the 2000 General Elections, a group of Texas politicians challenged the rights of full-time RVers to vote by absentee ballot even though they had declared Livingston, TX, (headquarters of the Escapees Club) because the politicians reasoned that Livingston was only a mail drop and not the actual residence of the RVers. Since then, the Escapees have led the battle to protect all full-time RVers voting rights. The Escapees battle cry became, "If not here, Where?" In other words if a person chose to sell their home and become full-time RVers and declared a particular location as their official residence and met the qualifications for residency why should they not be allowed to vote in that location, even if by absentee ballot and even if they ever or seldom are actually there.