Editorials: Who’s behind Americans Elect and what they want | Los Angeles Times

A few weeks ago I wrote about an effort to put a centrist “third party” candidate on the presidential ballot next year, launched by an organization called Americans Elect. The privately funded group plans to stage a wide-open primary on the Internet, to enable voters to choose a ticket drawn from the middle of the political spectrum. Voters can propose anyone they like, but the process is designed for potential centrist candidates such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

That column provoked a torrent of questions from readers. Some asked: Isn’t this just a Republican plot to seduce independents away from President Obama? Others asked: Isn’t this just a Democratic plot to seduce moderates away from the GOP? These are fair questions in an age in which seemingly benign proposals sometimes conceal hidden agendas. So I did some more digging to find out who is behind Americans Elect and what it’s really after.

Indiana: No special prosecutor will be appointed for voter-fraud allegations against Bayhs | The Indianapolis Star

The Marion County Election Board will review allegations by Secretary of State Charlie White that former U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh committed voter fraud. Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry referred the case to the board Thursday after rejecting a request by White to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate.

Curry said despite owning a home in Washington, D.C., Bayh and his wife could vote in Indiana’s May 2011 primary. “The mere fact that a person maintains a residence in a state other than Indiana — even if the out-of-state property is more valuable than the Indiana property — is insufficient to conclude that the person has committed fraud by voting in Indiana,” Curry wrote in a statement.

White’s attorney, Carl Brizzi, said he never expected the prosecutor to pursue the matter criminally. And that was the point.

Indiana: Charlie White’s request to investigate Bayh voter fraud claims denied | fox59.com

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office released a statement Thursday stating they have declined Indiana Secretary of State Charles White’s request to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of voter fraud by former Senator Evan Bayh and his wife, Susan.

White is accused of voting in the wrong precinct during the May 2010 primary among several other charges. He is accused using his ex-wife’s address to vote. White maintains he was the victim of an innocent mistake. White was indicted on seven felony charges in March, including voter fraud, theft and perjury.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said they reviewed documents delivered to them by White, who accused the Bayh’s of committing voter fraud by voter fraud in May 2011, because they had property in both Washington, D.C. and Marion County.

Indiana: Bayh Denounces ‘Baseless’ Voter Fraud Accusations | WRTV

Former Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh is denouncing what he calls baseless allegations of voter fraud brought by embattled Secretary of State Charlie White. In a five-page, single-spaced complaint filed Tuesday, White accused the former Democratic senator and his wife, Susan Bayh of casting ballots in May’s primary in Indiana while living in Washington, D.C., and of improperly claiming a property tax homestead exemption on a condo they own in Marion County.

White faces trial in January on seven felony charges, including voter fraud, after prosecutors allege he illegally registered to vote at his ex-wife’s address when he declared his candidacy for the office.

“Mr.White’s assertions are baseless. His situation is factually and legally different than mine,” Bayh said in a statement Thursday. White claims the Bayhs actually reside in a $2.3 million home in Washington, D.C., not their $58,000 condo on Indianapolis’ northwest side. But Indiana Democrats stressed that the Bayhs have always had a home in Indianapolis and called White’s complaint “laughable and regrettable.”

Indiana: Bayh calls White’s vote fraud allegations ‘baseless’ | The Indianapolis Star

Former U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh is calling voter-fraud allegations against him and his wife, Susan, “baseless.” But whether the allegations, made in a criminal complaint filed by Secretary of State Charlie White on Tuesday, will lead to charges is difficult to say.

The law is open to interpretation, according to one legal expert. “(It depends) on how rigidly or flexibly you follow the law,” said Dianne Pinderhughes, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame.

The Marion County prosecutor’s office is reviewing White’s complaint, which alleges that the Bayhs shouldn’t have voted absentee in the Indianapolis municipal primary in May. They own a condo in Indianapolis, but their main residence is a multimillion-dollar home in Washington, D.C., White contended.