Republican Washington Legislature candidate John Ley.
Courtesy of John Ley
A Washington state House candidate whose efforts to move into a new district got him effectively disqualified from the ballot is now the subject of a perjury investigation, recently filed court records show.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is investigating whether Camas resident John Ley ever lived at the Battle Ground home he listed when he filed to run for an open seat in Washington’s 18th Legislative District.
Detectives this month sought Ley’s cell phone records and data, including GPS coordinates that could broadly show his phone’s location over time. Detectives are seeking records between April 1 and May 17, the period in which Ley would have changed the address on his voter registration and filed his candidacy.
“I am seeking to obtain historical location data through cellular data records mediation for the purpose of determining whether or not the defendant actually ever resided at the address claimed on his voter registration at the time he declared candidacy in this matter,” Detective Jayson Camp wrote Aug. 5.
Court records so far don’t show what materials detectives actually received from the carrier. Camp wrote on Aug. 13 that T-Mobile had provided “requested records via email.”
Ley declined to comment. In a text message, he said he had submitted a public records request for more information, but had “nothing to say until I can read the allegations and see the results of the investigation.” He did not elaborate on the records he sought.
Washington law requires would-be candidates to eligible voters for the offices they seek. Registering to vote at a new address requires only that a person has lived at the address for 30 days prior to the next election.
Ley’s claim to have lived at the Battle Ground home have already been publicly refuted, although not in a criminal matter.
Shortly after the longtime Camas homeowner filed his candidacy, fellow Republican Carolyn Crain challenged his address. That triggered a formal hearing with local election officials.
In the hearing, Crain presented property records showing Ley still owned his $1.2 million home in Camas. Ley listed that same home on candidate filings with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. The retired commercial airline pilot registered his personal plane to that home as well, Crain said.
Crain also reported sending letters with “return service requested” to Ley’s addresses, and said she spoke with neighbors in Battle Ground who had never seen him.
In a May 27 interview with OPB, Ley said he didn’t know “off the top of my head” when he last slept at the Battle Ground home. He declined to elaborate on the rental agreement, but said he was renting a room.
“As far as I know, everything I did is acceptable according to the current law,” he said. “As I interpreted them, I could rent a room up there and legally change my voting address if I wanted to.”
Ley later said in a hearing he recalled the question of when he last slept at the home to be how many times he had slept there. He said he rented a room at the home for $1 a month.
On July 8, Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey ruled Ley “did not reside” at the Battle Ground home he listed on his voter registration.
On July 16, a Clark County Superior Court Judge deemed any votes garnered in the Aug. 2 primary would not be able to propel him to November, effectively disqualifying him.
