Iberia Parish sheriff candidate Murphy Meyers said a blogger who accused him of not meeting the requirements to qualify for the Oct. 12 election is wrong, and claims that one of his competitors is engaging in dirty tricks to smear his campaign.

Baton Rouge blogger Tom Aswell wrote in his LouisianaVoice blog that Meyers did not meet the domicile requirement of the of of the state’s election code, pointing to a home in St. Martin Parish where Meyers had previously claimed a homestead exemption.

Meyers, however, said he had discontinued his homestead exemption at 1000 Hugh Drive in St. Martinville prior to his running for sheriff in Iberia.

“When I changed my voter registration, I changed my address,” Meyers said. “My address is 210 L Dubois Road.”

Meyers said he expected the issue to be raised after he heard that private investigators were doing surveillance in the area and canvassing the neighborhood, asking residents where Meyers lived.

“They were staking out the house taking pictures,” Meyers said. “They had a woman going door-to-door in the neighborhood. She went to about 10 houses and asked, ‘Do you know where Murphy Meyers lives?’ They all pointed to the house.”

Meyers’ wife, Malinda, purchased the home in 1991, prior to the pair’s marriage. Aswell incorrectly wrote that she inherited the home from her mother.

Under the Louisiana Election Code, qualification for the office of sheriff requires that the candidate be a resident of the state for at least two years and be domiciled in the parish for at least a year.

The legal definitions of residency and domicile vary slightly. Under the state’s civil code, A person may reside in several places but may not have more than one domicile. In the absence of habitual residence, any place of residence may be considered a domicile at the option of persons whose interests are affected.

Although Meyers admits he does split his time between the Iberia Parish home and his St. Martinville home, he said he spends about half of his nights in Iberia Parish.

“I’m at that house every day,” Meyers said of the L Dubois Road home. “Every time I stay the night, I put a circle on the calendar. I’d say I am there about half the time.”