By Joel Gilbert
This past Thursday, unshaven Congressman Eric Swalwell declared his candidacy for the governorship of California, despite being constitutionally disqualified to run. At the center of Swalwell’s disqualification is that to become California governor, the candidate’s true, primary, and permanent home must be in the state of California.
The California Constitution and the California Elections Code leave no ambiguity on this point. And yet, Swalwell’s own legally binding mortgage documents state, signed under penalty of perjury, that his home in Washington DC is his principal residence.
This means Eric Swalwell, by his own sworn declaration, is not domiciled in the state of California. And because domicile, and not mere mailing address, is the standard for gubernatorial eligibility according to California law, Swalwell is legally disqualified from becoming governor and must withdraw his announcement immediately.
California’s Constitutional Requirements and Election Law
California’s eligibility rules to become governor derive from the California Constitution, Article V, Section 2, which states a person is eligible to be Governor only if the person is “a citizen of the United States and a resident of this State for 5 years immediately preceding the Governor’s election.”
The operative word is resident. But in California law, “resident” does not simply mean where one receives mail or even owns property. It means “domicile”, one’s true, fixed, permanent home. California Elections Code §349 makes this point absolutely clear: “A domicile is the place where a person’s habitation is fixed and where they have the intention of remaining.” And, “At a given time, a person may have only one domicile.”
The law further emphasizes that though a person may have multiple residences (which Swalwell does not), they may have only one designated domicile. Domicile is proven by actual habitation plus intent to remain permanently. This eliminates any candidate whose legal declarations show that their true primary home is not in California.
Swalwell’s 2022 Mortgage Filing: A Sworn Declaration of D.C. as His Primary Residence
Swalwell’s mortgage document to purchase 209 9th St SE in Washington D.C. makes it clear. On the opening pages of the Deed of Trust, Swalwell and his wife are listed as the borrowers. The document is a District of Columbia Deed of Trust, and it contains the standard federal Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac provisions for owner-occupant primary residence declarations.
Clause 8 of the document includes the line “Material representations include, but are not limited to, representations concerning Borrower’s occupancy of the Property as Borrower’s principal residence.”
Borrower’s Loan Application, rule number 8.
The signature page shows Swalwell and his wife signing under seal, affirming every covenant in the document. The Swalwell’s signatures confirm he is bound by the principal residence owner-occupancy declaration. On the Security Affidavit on page 20, Swalwell again signs under oath regarding his ownership and use of the D.C. property “subject to criminal penalties for making false statements”.
These are not symbolic signatures. They carry legal consequences. By declaring a principal residence in Washington, D.C. on legal and financial documents, Swalwell declared that D.C. is his domicile, and not California.
Why This Disqualifies Swalwell: Principal Residence = Domicile
California law is crystal clear: to become governor, a candidate’s domicile must be in California for 5 years prior to an election. A signed legal statement of principal residence in another jurisdiction is direct evidence of domicile there, and not in California. The courts look at two core elements:
Where does the candidate actually live most of the time?
Where does the candidate declare their primary, permanent home?
Swalwell’s mortgage answers both questions. He owns and occupies a home in Washington D.C., and he legally and financially swore under penalty of perjury that it is his principal residence. That is the legal definition of domicile.
Even owning a secondary home in California (which he does not) or occasionally visiting California would not qualify Swalwell for the governorship since he’s declared Washington D.C. as his principal residence. The California Attorney General and the courts have repeatedly maintained that a candidate cannot simply claim residency in California to run for office while legally living elsewhere.
Domicile is exclusive, meaning you can only have one. Swalwell cannot claim a primary residence in Washington, D.C. to secure lower rate mortgage benefits and then claim to meet California constitutional residency requirements. This is legally impossible. Thus, Swalwell’s own filings make him ineligible to run for governor of California.
The Five-Year Requirement Is Also Fatal
Because the California Constitution requires five years of California residency immediately before election as governor, Eric Swalwell would have needed to:
1) Abandon his D.C. domicile as his principal residence
2) Establish a new California domicile
3) Live in his California domicile as his primary home for five uninterrupted years
He has not done any of this. Swalwell cannot retroactively pretend California is his domicile to run for governor. Domicile is continuous and must be supported by evidence of actual habitation for five years. Swalwell’s sworn principal residence mortgage document for his Washington D.C. home does the very opposite, it is conclusive evidence of his domicile in Washington D.C since 2022, and not the state of California.
Swalwell Must Withdraw: The Law Leaves Him No Choice
This is not speculation. It is not political commentary. It is the black and white letter of California law. Swalwell’s mortgage documents show his primary residence is Washington D.C., while California requires the governor to be a California domiciliary. Therefore, Swalwell cannot meet the constitutional requirements to become governor of California. Eric Swalwell’s signed mortgage documents make him constitutionally ineligible.
The California Constitution and California Elections Code converge toward one unavoidable conclusion:
Eric Swalwell is disqualified from appearing on California’s gubernatorial ballot and must announce his withdrawal or be disqualified by the Secretary of State of California immediately.
Joel Gilbert is a Los Angeles-based film producer and president of Highway 61 Entertainment. He is the producer of the new film Roseanne Barr Is America. He is also the producer of: Dreams from My Real Father, The Trayvon Hoax, Trump: The Art of the Insult, and many other films on American politics and music icons. Gilbert is on Twitter: @JoelSGilbert.
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