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Friday, January 07, 2011
Ind. Gov't. - "White sworn in as inquiries go on: State's new top election official denies he committed voter fraud in primary"
Updating this list of ILB entries on the candidacy of Charlie White for Secretary or State, and particularly this entry from Nov. 21, 2010, the Indianapolis Star's Mary Beth Schneider has this story today. Some quotes:
Shortly after taking the oath of office, Secretary of State Charlie White spoke words that never cross most officeholders' lips: "I did not commit voter fraud."White, who won election in November, is under investigation by two special prosecutors in Hamilton County for having voted in the wrong precinct in the May primary election.
If he did so deliberately to cover up the fact that he no longer lived in the Fishers Town Council district he represented, as Democrats allege, that's a Class D felony. If it was an innocent mistake, as White asserts, it may be merely a political footnote to his career.
But even as White was taking the oath of office Thursday from Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard -- a ceremonial repeat of the oath White took in a low-key Hamilton County event Dec. 27 -- the question hung in the air: How long will he stay as secretary of state?
The speculation in political circles and in the Statehouse is that if he is indicted by a grand jury, which is expected to take up the case in February, White's tenure as secretary of state may be short. A felony conviction would bar him from the office, though a judge could opt to reduce it to a misdemeanor. Still, an indictment alone could be enough to cause Republican leaders to pressure White to resign. * * *
Democrats, though, have gone to court to challenge White's eligibility as a candidate. If the legal system finds that White committed voter fraud in May, said Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker, he was ineligible to be a candidate and certified as the winner. Under Indiana law, Parker said, the second-place finisher, Democrat Vop Osili, should be declared the next secretary of state rather than someone appointed by Daniels.
That's an argument, though, that the Indiana Recount Commission -- on which Republicans hold a 2-1 majority -- already has rejected. * * *
White's troubles began when he changed his voter registration in February to his ex-wife's address, which was in his Fishers Town Council district, but that same month closed on the purchase of a condo in a different district. He moved to that condo in March, never changed his voter registration and voted in his ex-wife's precinct in May. As he voted, he signed a poll book that listed her address, not his.
Two provisions in Indiana law allow a voter to cast ballots at his or her old polling place. One applies only to those who move within 30 days, so it doesn't fit White's case. The other doesn't mention any time deadline but does require the voter to inform poll workers of his or her new address and correct his or her registration at the polling place. White never did that.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 7, 2011 09:34 AM
Posted to Indiana Government