The new story from former eBay CEO and current gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman is that she was too busy taking care of her husband and children to vote or even register until 2002.
She also said that she "moved many, many times."
Note to Whitman: Every time you submit a permanent change of address to the post office, the local elections board usually sends you a new registration form.
You can even register to vote by mail, and never have to mingle with the hoi polloi at the polls, like the millions of working mothers who manage to turn out for every election.
Whitman had previously stated that she has been registered since 1998 as an independent. After a detailed investigation of her voting records failed to turn up any registration before 2002, she called that statement a "mistake."
She didn't register as a Republican until 2007, shortly before helping her old boss Mitt Romney with his failed presidential bid.
As to why she finally decided to participate in the democratic process, she explained that she learned at eBay how the big, mean government is responsible for taxes and regulations on businesses.
Of course, that same government also built the Internet and the postal service that made eBay's business possible.
At the same time, she's claimed that the need to stay above the fray at eBay, with its wide base of customers and sellers across the political spectrum led her not to register or vote as a Republican for years -- which would seem to contradict the notion that her experience at eBay politicized her.
As to whether her voting record and party independence will influence opinions of her candidacy, GOP strategist and Hoover Institution fellow Bill Whalen argued it isn't a big deal.
"This is like she took 20 items through a 15-item checkout."
However, it's an easy way for opponents to score a point in debates, which may be why Whitman won't be attending any until at least March.
Garvin Thomas contributed reporting to this story. Photo by Erik Hersman.
Jackson West wonders how a politician can hate the government so much yet want so badly to jump on the state's payroll bandwagon.
