What does the residency requirement mean?

The length of time you must reside in a place in order to be considered a "resident"- meaning this is your primary home. In most states it is one year. Establishing residency is important for many legal actions and transactions, one of which is voting.

Additional Info: In most states, with the exception of active members of the military and their families, there is no qualifying time period. The minute you move to the state, are issued a drivers license, register to vote, start your children in school, or begin public utility service in your name, you are considered a legal resident.

FURTHER INFO: A residency requirement is also that period of time for which a person has to be a resident of a particular place in order to be qualified to run for political office. For example in the US Constitution, a person must have been a resident WITHIN the United States for a period of fourteen years in order to be qualified to run for the office of the President. Laws governing virtually every political office, federal, state and local, require candidates for those offices to be residents of the geographic area over which that political office has jurisdiction.