Indiana: Indiana Democrats appeal Recount Commission ruling clearing embattled secretary of state | The Republic

Indiana Democrats on Thursday appealed a decision allowing embattled Republican Secretary of State Charlie White to stay in office while he fights voter fraud charges. The Indiana Democratic Party appealed the Indiana Recount Commission vote allowing White to stay in office. State Democratic Chairman Dan Parker said he wants a Marion County judge to review the decision.

The two Republicans and one Democrat on the Recount Commission voted unanimously last month to let White to keep his job. But comments from the commission’s chairman that White’s actions brushed up against the line of being illegal merited a court review, Parker said.

Indiana: Election challenge dismissed in Clarksville clerk race | News and Tribune

Clark Circuit Judge Daniel Moore dismissed a case that had been filed by Clarksville Clerk-Treasurer Gary Hall, which claimed Election Day irregularities due to a lack of handicap accessible voting machines at the polls on May 3.

Moore’s decision was a win for Bob Leuthart, who defeated Hall in the Democratic primary by 24 votes. Hall was challenging the results of the election because handicap accessible machines around the county were out of commission on Election Day. A bench trial, which took only about an hour, took place on Friday morning.

John Vissing, Hall’s attorney, based his case on the fact that federal laws passed as a part of the Help America Vote Act require such machines at each polling location. The Clark County Election Board conceded that the machines were not functional.

Indiana: Judge orders special Muncie City Council election in two precincts | The Star Press

Democratic voters in two eastside precincts will again cast primary ballots in the Muncie City Council District 6 race, a Delaware County judge ruled on Friday.

Circuit Court 3 Judge Linda Ralu Wolf ordered that a special election be held Sept. 13 in precincts 12 and 20, voting at the Buley Center and Price Hall, respectively. Those are the polling sites that current District 6 council member — and apparent primary winner — Julius Anderson was accused of entering, in violation of election law, while the May 3 primary election was under way.

When the votes cast that day were tallied, Richard Ivy had finished 10 votes behind Anderson in a three-candidate primary field.

Indiana: White seeks delay in criminal trial | The Indianapolis Star

Secretary of State Charlie White’s attorney is asking to delay White’s criminal trial, which is scheduled for Aug. 8.

Attorney Dennis Zahn told a Hamilton County judge this morning that he will not be done reviewing evidence in time to go to trial in August. He plans to file a formal request for a delay in the next few days. Zahn and White were in court today for a hearing on two other requests.

They claim that the special prosecutors appointed to the case should be removed and that additional material from the grand jury that indicted White should be released to Zahn.

Indiana: White ruling prompts calls for election law reform | nwi times

Secretary of State Charlie White got to keep his job because state law required the Indiana Recount Commission to consider White’s “intent” in determining where he resided.

In a 3-0 decision last week, the commission ruled based on White’s testimony, and despite legal documents suggesting otherwise, White intended to reside at his ex-wife’s home until moving into a condominium once he married his fiancée. That decision meant White, a Republican, was eligible to run for office and can keep his job as the state’s chief elections officer because he was properly registered to vote.

But White, members of the Recount Commission and the Indiana Democratic Party, which challenged White’s eligibility, all believe Indiana election law needs to be changed to better account for nontraditional families and unusual living situations.

Indiana: White: ‘There is no loss of credibility’ | The Indianapolis Star

Secretary of State Charlie White smiled triumphantly, took his wife’s hand and calmly walked past the reporters waiting to talk to him Tuesday after the Indiana Recount Commission allowed him to keep his job.

But his victory might be short-lived. His job still is in jeopardy.

Even though the bipartisan panel voted 3-0 to reject Democrats’ complaint that he was illegally registered to vote at the time he declared his candidacy, the Democrats could appeal to the courts.

Editorials: Jennifer Wagner: Charlie White’s lonely outpost | The Indianapolis Star

If there’s one thing Indiana Republicans and Democrats can agree on, it’s that disgraced Secretary of State Charlie White should step down from the office he’s embarrassed since the day he took the oath.

On Tuesday, the Indiana Recount Commission granted White a temporary legal reprieve, ruling that the state’s election laws are sufficiently vague to prevent his removal from office. White faces criminal trial in August on seven felony counts of voter fraud, theft and perjury.

White has attempted to turn his failure to properly register to vote and his illegitimate service on the Fishers Town Council into an intricate personal tale: It wasn’t his fault he broke the law. Life just got too complicated to focus on the details.

The Voting News Daily: Indiana Secretary of State White can stay in office, Bill passes requiring ID at Pennsylvania voting booths

Indiana: Secretary of State White can stay in office, recount panel rules | The Indianapolis Star The Indiana Recount Commission voted 3-0 this morning that Secretary of State Charlie White can remain in office. The panel of two Republicans and one Democrat turned down Democrats’ complaint that White was illegally registered to vote when he declared…

Indiana: Secretary of State White can stay in office, recount panel rules | The Indianapolis Star

The Indiana Recount Commission voted 3-0 this morning that Secretary of State Charlie White can remain in office. The panel of two Republicans and one Democrat turned down Democrats’ complaint that White was illegally registered to vote when he declared his candidacy last year.

The ruling came as a relief to White, who smiled and took his wife’s hand as they exited the hearing this morning. He said his feelings today reminded him of his elation after he handily defeated Democrat Vop Osili in last November’s election.

“I’m very humbled,” White said after hearing the commission’s ruling. “Obviously, our family is very happy that we’ve been able to at least put the recount commission phase of this is behind us.”

Indiana: Charlie White wins ruling, to retain office | The Journal Gazette

The Indiana Recount Commission ruled 3-0 Tuesday that Secretary of State Charlie White will keep his statewide office despite confusion over his voting address last year.

The partisan panel – two Republicans and one Democrat – specifically found that White was legally registered to vote when he ran for office and won last year – something the Indiana Democratic Party contested.

Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said White was an eligible candidate and was properly registered at his ex-wife’s home because he intended to live there with his son until his marriage in late May 2010. The finding puts an end to the civil complaint unless the Democrats decide to appeal.

Indiana: Commission rules today on White | The Indianapolis Star

The Indiana Recount Commission will rule today on Democrats’ challenge to Charlie White’s eligibility to serve as secretary of state.

The Democrats say White was illegally registered to vote at the time he declared his candidacy and should be replaced by Democrat Vop Osili, whom White defeated in November.

The commission’s decision will determine White’s immediate political future, but it might not end the months-long debate over his eligibility to hold office because either side could appeal to the courts.

Editorials: Charlie White: Recount Commission decision should rest with facts and law | The Indianapolis Star

In recent months, much has been said and written about the Indiana Democratic Party’s challenge to my candidacy and election. Months to you have felt like years to me, and I welcome the end to this chapter with today’s findings of the Indiana Recount Commission — whatever they may be.

It was unnecessary and cruel to drag my family into this matter. Much of what forms the basis of the dispute in this challenge and the criminal action in Hamilton County center on my attempts to put the needs of my family first — to respect the wishes of my wife, Michelle, and her children, and my desire to be near and share custody of my son with my former wife and friend, Nicole, during my campaign. Both Michelle and Nicole have been targeted or questioned by prosecutors and the Democrats’ legal team. I’m relieved our side of the story is now public record.

Indiana: Election panel chairman has ties to White campaign through law firm’s donations | The Republic

The state panel that is weighing voter fraud allegations against Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White includes a Republican linked to White through political contributions.

Indiana Recount Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is listed as a participant in a White fundraiser in May 2009. Campaign finance records show a political action committee for Wheeler’s law firm donated $5,000 to White’s campaign in July 2010.

Frost Brown Todd spokesman Mike Murphy says the state double-counted contributions and that the PAC donated $2,500 to White and $1,000 to Democrat Vop Osili.

Indiana: White hopes atypical family tale has silver lining | The Journal Gazette

Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s descriptions of his complicated personal life may have been more than some voters bargained for as the state’s top elections official fought for his political future before the Indiana Recount Commission last week.

But if there’s a silver lining for White, who faces voter fraud allegations that could cost him his job and his freedom, it could be that he presented himself as a family man — something that political observers say resonates with Hoosier voters.

The White case has become a rare unloading of all things deeply personal in a state where the family life of a politician — from Gov. Mitch Daniels’ divorce and remarriage to the same woman to Rep. Dan Burton’s child born out of wedlock — gets little scrutiny.

Indiana: White’s eligibility to hold office to be decided Tuesday | The Indianapolis Star

The Indiana Recount Commission will determine Secretary of State Charlie White’s eligibility to hold office on Tuesday – two days sooner than planned. The commission heard testimony this week regarding Democrats’ complaint that White was illegally registered to vote at the time he declared his candidacy and is ineligible to serve. The Democrats say White should be replaced by Democrat Vop Osili, who White defeated by a large margin last November. The commission will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the facts of the case and rule on the Democrats’ challenge. It was originally scheduled to announce its decision on Thursday.

White is accused of using his ex-wife’s address on his voter registration records. The Democrats suspect that he was living in a condo he purchased for him and his new wife. This week’s hearing lasted seven hours, and White testified for about two hours.

Indiana: Easing Secretary of State White’s damage | The Journal Gazette

Secretary of State Charlie White could well have proven to be the worst thing that ever happened to the Indiana GOP – at least since Richard Nixon’s participation in Watergate triggered a Democratic landslide in 1974 – if not for a late-session maneuver by the GOP-controlled legislature.

If the Indiana Recount Commission rules next week that White was ineligible to run for the office he won last November, Democrats pick up a key statewide office and the Republican Party’s image is tarnished. But a White loss could have inflicted even greater damage to the party, giving it the legal status of an also-ran third party for the 2012 and 2014 statewide elections.

Indiana: Secretary of State’s request for investigation of voter fraud prosecutor gets rejected | The Republic

A prosecutor has turned down Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s request for an investigation into whether one of the special prosecutors pursuing voter fraud charges against him committed the same offense.

Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards said Wednesday that she saw no reason to move forward after a preliminary review of White’s allegations against Dan Sigler. A judge appointed Sigler last year as one of two special prosecutors for the case.

White, a Republican who took office in January, filed a complaint with Richard’s office on June 10, accusing Sigler, his ex-wife and current wife of voting at incorrect polling sites.

Indiana: Prosecutor won’t investigate Charlie White’s allegations | The Journal Gazette

Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards declined the request of embattled Secretary of State Charlie White to investigate allegations he directed at one of the special prosecutors handling his criminal case.

Last week, White filed a complaint with Richards’ office alleging special prosecutor Daniel Sigler Sr. committed voter fraud. White asked that Richards appoint a special prosecutor to investigate.

Sigler, a former Adams County prosecutor, is one of two special prosecutors handling the criminal case against White, who was indicted earlier this year on multiple charges, including voter fraud.

Indiana: Testimony on White’s residency does little to settle basic issue | The Indianapolis Star

For months, Secretary of State Charlie White tried to fend off Democrats’ challenge to his eligibility to hold office. He also tried to secure a promise that what he said during an election hearing Tuesday couldn’t be used against him in an ongoing criminal investigation in Hamilton County.

But when the Indiana Recount Commission hearing began, White seemed only too happy to provide the details of his personal life that are related to that challenge.

However, those details seemed to do little to conclusively answer the question Democrats are raising: Was White illegally registered to vote when he ran for office?

Indiana: Suit calls for special election: Clarksville clerk-treasurer lost May race by 26 votes | Individual.com

A hearing in Clark County’s Circuit Court on Wednesday alleged that the county’s electronic voting machines were inoperable in Clarksville during the May 3 primary election.

As a result Clarksville Clerk-Treasurer Gary Hall is asking that Clarksville have a special election to determine the winner of May’s Democratic clerk-treasurer primary. “We’ve asked for a new election on that particular race,” said Jack Vissing, Hall’s attorney.

Hall lost the Clarksville clerk-treasurer primary race to Bob Leuthart by 26 votes. Leuthart received 880 votes compared to Hall’s 854 votes.

Indiana: White testifies to rebut voter fraud allegations | nwi.com

Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White denied allegations Tuesday that he committed voter fraud even as Democrats presented legal documents signed by White suggesting he did.

For nearly seven hours, the Indiana Recount Commission took testimony concerning where White lived and voted in 2009 and 2010 to determine whether the Republican was eligible to be elected secretary of state.

Attorney Karen Celestino-Horseman, representing the Indiana Democratic Party, challenged White to explain why he claimed his ex-wife’s address as his own when he registered to vote in February 2010, even though in November 2009 White leased a condominium elsewhere in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers.

Indiana: White grilled on dual residences | The Journal Gazette

Allegations before the Indiana Recount Commission on Tuesday boiled down to whether Charlie White lived with his ex-wife or in a home he purchased to be with his fiancée when he ran for office in 2010.

That issue alone could decide whether he was legally registered to vote – and therefore hold the office of secretary of state that he won later that year. The panel won’t render a decision until a June 30 hearing.

White is accused of intentionally voting in a precinct where he no longer lived, and he is fighting two battles simultaneously. On the criminal side, he faces seven felony counts including voter fraud and perjury. If convicted of a felony, he must resign and the governor would appoint a successor.

Indiana: Charlie White testifies at Indiana recount hearing | The Journal Gazette

The long-awaited hearing to decide the fate of the Secretary of State’s office kicked off Tuesday with testimony from Charlie White himself. White answered all questions asked at the Indiana Recount Commission hearing about confusion over his residency, despite the fact that his testimony can be used against him in criminal court.

He is accused of intentionally voting in a precinct where he no longer lived, and he is fighting two battles simultaneously. On the criminal side, he faces seven felony counts including voter fraud and perjury. If convicted of a felony, he must resign and the governor would appoint a successor. On the civil side, Democrats have forced a recount hearing in which a three-member panel controlled by Republicans will rule on whether White was ineligible to be on the ballot because he wasn’t legally registered to vote.

If they agree, Democrat Vop Osili – who came in second in the contest – would take over the office.

Indiana: Recount narrows Leuthart victory in Clerk-Treasurer’s Race by one vote | The Courier-Journal

A recount of the vote in Clarksville’s Democratic Primary for Clerk-Treasurer Tuesday trimmed Bob Leuthart’s victory over incumbent Gary Hall by one vote, to 24, with 1,730 votes cast. But Hall’s lawyer, Jack Vissing, who had asked Clark County Circuit Court to order the recount of the May 3 primary, said his client will continue with his challenge of the election results.

A hearing is scheduled July 22 in circuit court on Hall’s claim that special election machines for voters with disabilities weren’t programmed properly and didn’t work on primary day, preventing an undetermined number of voters from casting ballots.

Indiana: White Again Denied Immunity for Recount Commission Testimony | 93.1 WIBC Indianapolis

Secretary of State Charlie White has lost another preliminary round ahead of a Tuesday hearing on whether he can stay in office. Marion Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg has rejected White’s request for immunity for his testimony at a Recount Commission hearing.

White’s facing a criminal trial in August on related charges, accusing him of voting from an address he’d already moved away from. Attorney Jim Bopp says allowing prosecutors to scour his testimony before the commission leaves him with “an unconscionable choice” between mounting his best defense in the criminal case or the election case.

Indiana: White blames transient time for voting allegations | StamfordAdvocate

Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White is expected to paint a picture of a man with a complicated personal life who was essentially without a home for nearly a year when he defends himself against voter fraud allegations during an Indiana Recount Commission hearing.

But White’s tale of what he calls efforts to care for his son and respect the wishes of his then-fiancée may not hold sway with the commission, which is under a judge’s order to decide whether he illegally voted in the May 2010 primary while registered at his ex-wife’s address.

A ruling against White would invalidate his election and force his removal from office. He also could face jail time if convicted in a separate criminal case.

Indiana: Secretary of State Seeking ‘Use Immunity’ in Bid to Undermine His Own Prosecution for Voter Fraud | The Brad Blog

Having failed to prevent Tuesday’s scheduled hearing before the Indiana Recount Commission on a Democratic Party complaint that he was illegally registered to vote at the time he declared his candidacy and thus, ineligible to have been elected as Indiana’s Sec. of State, Charlie White has filed a motion [PDF] to compel a grant of ‘use immunity’ in exchange for his and his wife’s testimony before the commission.

Separately, White is facing seven felony counts, including three for voter fraudrelated to his having been registered to vote at a house where he did not live, while serving as a member of a town council in a town where he also didn’t live. Trial in that criminal case is scheduled to commence on Aug. 8. The two special prosecutors assigned to the case have declined to provide the Whites with use immunity — with good reason. They no doubt want to avoid what happened to the Iran/Contra independent counsel when, for example, an appellate court ruled in United States vs. Col. Oliver North that a grant of use immunity to North shifted the burden to the independent prosecutor to “demonstrate an independent source for each item of evidence or testimony.”

Granting use immunity to White would make the job of the prosecutors in the criminal case that much more difficult.

Indiana: Judge: White’s testimony at election panel can be used in court | The Indianapolis Star

Anything Secretary of State Charlie White says at an election hearing Tuesday can be used against him in his criminal case in Hamilton County, a Marion Circuit Court judge ruled this morning. White’s attorney, Jim Bopp, said he is considering fighting the ruling in the Court of Appeals. If he appeals, he would ask for an expedited ruling so Tuesday’s hearing could continue as planned.

The Indiana Recount Commission will hear arguments and testimony Tuesday regarding Democrats’ complaint that White was illegally registered to vote at the time he declared his candidacy and shouldn’t be allowed to hold office. The Democrats say that White’s Democrat opponent, Vop Osili, should replace White.