Congress Member-elect George Santos from Long Island has become a household name, at least to those who follow politics and the law. As he just admitted, he lacks certain credentials he touted to the voters of New York’s Third Congressional District during the recent campaign, and falsified significant biographical information about his past. All of which is to say that he is not who he said he was. As a result of his so-called “embellishments,” and despite his mea culpa, there are people demanding that the House of Representatives not allow him to take his seat on January 3rd when the new Congress gavels into session. They will be disappointed.

In a somewhat analogous case, New York State Assembly Member-elect Lester Chang seems to be on track to make history as the first state legislator to not be seated when the legislature convenes on January 4th. His problem is not one of fakery. It’s because he allegedly does not meet the residency qualification to serve in the Assembly. Specifically, he is required to have lived in Brooklyn for a year prior to his election this past November. A hearing on Chang’s residency was held last week by the New York State Assembly’s Judiciary Committee, and the full Assembly is slated to consider the matter in the new year.