I recently picked up a hitchhiker (I admit I do not do so often) and brought him to RBS with me. This hitchhiker was fairly talkative and he starts talking about the local elections. He is a yeshiva student learning and dorming in a local yeshiva, though he hails from a different city. He tells me, while we are driving, about what he thinks of the elections. Then he tells me that in his yeshiva, they are all registering with the Misrad Hapnim to change their addresses in their identity cards to indicate Bet Shemesh as their places of residence.
This is completely legal, by the way. No scam is being pulled. Students in a city from elsewhere, if they are living in the city, are allowed to change their address to that city and be considered a resident of the hosting town. I am sure certain requirements must be met, but overall it is a simple process.
Now here is the kicker. This student tells me that they are all changing their address to Bet Shemesh for the elections, but then a month later will be changing their addresses back, each one to whatever city he actually lives in (or, I should say, each one to the city in which his family lives).
I did not get that, and asked why rush to change it back? What's the big deal, especially if you are in Bet Shemesh anyway?
He tells me they will be changing it back shortly after elections because their families get discounts in arnona in whatever city they live in, and part of the calculations for arnona discounts is how many people live in the home.
Also perfectly legitimate by law.
It seems there is some loophole in the law. Even though everything being done looks to me to be legal (I am no lawyer, nor am I an expert in the relevant laws, so it looks to me to be legal, but maybe somebody else will find a problem with the process), it seems to me there is a problem here. Something like this should not be allowed. People should not be allowed to change addresses so flippantly, just for a specific benefit like this.
I propose a law that in general people should not be able to process a change of address to a different city more than once a year. The law can include exceptions, such as if a request is made it must be accompanied by proof of actual residency or whatever exceptions might be necessary to include. If someone wants to change his address, say to Elad, so he can vote for a specific candidate there because in his own town his vote doesnt matter, he should know that he is doing so at risk of losing his arnona discount or whatever other benefits he might lose by not being a resident of his real city of residence. Fates of towns with people living in them should not be dependent on who can play the game better and take advantage of such loopholes changing address this way and that way. Pick where you want to live, and live with your decision. If you want to live in Bet Shemesh, don't try to get an arnona discount in Bnei Braq or Elad or Modiin Ilit, and vice versa. A student can change his address to indicate the town in which he is studying (assuming he meets the requirements) and then vote in that towns elections - but then don't change it back right after elections to continue getting benefits elsewhere. it is one town or the other.
So, I propose a law be written that limits the frequency of changing address when moving from one city to another, with exceptions. Pass it along to your favorite politician. He or she will only support it if he is not involved in such a deception himself..
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