Donald Trump's campaign CEO is registered to vote at an abandoned rental house he never lived in


When Donald Trump suggested that the 2016 election might be "rigged," he probably wasn't thinking about his new campaign CEO, Stephen Bannon, who, The Guardian reports, is registered to vote in the key swing state of Florida using the address of a vacant house he never lived in. Bannon has an active voter registration in Miami-Dade County, with the address for a condemned house that was abandoned a few months ago by one of his ex-wives, Diane Clohesy, according to neighbors who say they have never seen Bannon at the house. (Clohesy herself also appears to be registered illegally in neighboring Broward County.)
Bannon owns a house in Orange County, California, which is reputedly his primary residence, and co-owns a Los Angeles condo, though he also claims to live in the "Breitbart embassy" in Washington, D.C., a $2.4 million townhouse owned by an Egyptian businessman named Mostafa El-Gindy, The Guardian says. Florida requires people to be legal residents of the county and state where they are registered to vote, with the Florida secretary of state's office defining legal residency as the place "where a person mentally intends to make his or her permanent residence." In Florida, willfully submitting false information on your voter registration is a third-degree felony.
"Bannon is executive chairman of the rightwing website Breitbart News, which has for years aggressively claimed that voter fraud is rife among minorities and in Democratic-leaning areas," The Guardian notes. Neither Bannon nor Clohesy responded to The Guardian's request for comment, though Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller said "Mr. Bannon moved to another location in Florida," without elaborating. This at least wouldn't appear to be a case of double-voting, though: Bannon gave up his California registration in 2014. You can read more at The Guardian, or about Bannon's alleged physical abuse and threats against another ex-wife at Politico and the New York Post.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 30, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - strawberry fields forever, secret files, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously sparse cartoons about further DOGE cuts
Cartoons Artists take on free audits, report cards, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder
Speed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees
speed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat
Speed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Canada's Mark Carney calls snap election
speed read Voters will go to the polls on April 28 to pick a new government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published