Republican policymakers, at the federal and state level, are often desperate to find real-world, high-profile examples of voter fraud. The good news for the GOP is that a legitimate example has come to public light. The bad news is, the example is from their side of the aisle.
The top elections official in Indiana was convicted of multiple charges in a voter fraud case on Saturday, bringing uncertainty to one of the state’s most powerful offices.
A Hamilton County jury found Charlie White, the Indiana secretary of state, guilty of six of seven felony charges: two counts of perjury and one each of false registration, voting in another precinct, submitting a false ballot and theft. He was acquitted of one fraud charge. […]
It was not immediately clear what would happen in the state office. Mr. White has resisted calls to resign by Democrats and fellow Republicans, including Gov. Mitch Daniels, but state law bars anyone convicted of a felony from remaining in office.
Commenting on the controversy, Kay at Balloon Juice recently noted, “Besides the obvious embarrassment of the state official who is in charge of elections being indicted on charges of voter registration fraud, it’s just perfect that this happened in Indiana, because Indiana paved the way for the voter suppression laws we’re seeing all over the country…. Indiana has one of the most restrictive voter ID laws in the country, and that didn’t stop their top elections official from registering and voting in the wrong place. That’s because voter ID laws target the imaginary problem of voter impersonation fraud, while doing next to nothing to address the fraud that actually occurs.”
Just to rub a little salt on the wound, it’s also worth noting that White, while seeking the office, listed election integrity as one of his top concerns, and promised to “protect and defend Indiana’s Voter ID law to ensure our elections are fair and protect the most basic and precious right and responsibility of our democracy-voting.” As part of the “war on voting,” conservative officials keep putting new hurdles between voters and the ballot box, ostensibly because they fear the scourge of fraud. The irony is, the deceit much of the right fears is imaginary, while the real-world fraud seem to be coming from their side of the political divide.
The place for in-depth analysis, commentary and informed perspectives. Recommended
