David Arreola won the HD 22 Democratic nomination, but residency kept him from voting in the Primary

Democrat David Arreola, for months, stressed his deep roots in House District 22.

But since March, he has lived outside the district.

Records show he couldn’t vote for himself in a Democratic Primary he won over Amy Task. Now, he faces former Levy County Commissioner Chad Johnson for a battleground seat.

Alachua County election records show that on March 28, Arreola shifted his voter registration to a Gainesville address in the Highland Court Manor area. The home technically sits in House District 21, which is represented by Rep. Yvonne Hinson, a Gainesville Democrat who won re-election without opposition.

Before that, he lived in the Bartram Woods area, a home in the district. That’s one of seven addresses where Arreola has been registered to vote since 2012. Outside of a 14-month stint from 2014 to 2016 when he lived in St. Johns County, Arreola has lived in the Gainesville area but has floated between areas located within the current boundaries of HD 21 and 22.

“I am making those arrangements now and moving back into my home in the district,” Arreola said.

Florida law only requires candidates for the Legislature to live in their districts at the point they take office, which in the case of the state House seat would be after midnight following the Nov. 5 General Election.

But Arreola, a former Gainesville City Commissioner, has stressed his connection to the region throughout the campaign.

“I was born and raised in Florida House District 22. I’m running for the state legislature to fight back against the political extremists who are attacking our friends and neighbors,” Arreola’s website states.

“During my time on the Gainesville City Commission, I championed public safety on our streets, fought to make Florida affordable, and advocated for reproductive rights.”

He said he had to move at points to have proper residency for the City Commission job and will do so again. His family owns property in the district, he said, and he already has plans to move back into a home near the Tioga area, just within HD 22’s boundaries. The address provided belongs to his mother and brother.

However, during the August Primary, he was registered to vote in House District 21 and did so there, meaning he could not cast a ballot for himself for the Democratic nomination. He won over Trask anyway, taking almost 57% of the vote.

Arreola’s paperwork has largely given a Post Office box as his official address. A check he wrote to the Division of Elections earlier this year came from an account with an address where he has not been registered to vote since before November 2021.

As of Aug. 23, the last filing period after the state Primary, Arreola had more than $34,000 on hand. Johnson had almost $43,000 in the bank following a Republican Primary against Raemi Eagle-Glenn.

A plurality of voters in HD 22, about 49.8%, supported Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election, though about 56% of voters there supported Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ re-election and about 55% backed U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio for a third term.