The office of the Secretary of State and Indiana Fourth Congressional Candidate, Todd Rokita, has let it be known that they investigated the alleged voting fraud of Charlie White. They talked to people and printed out paper and everything. – 265 pages! (font size not disclosed). – But, they’re not telling anything about it. Because, there are prosecutors and stuff involved, you see. The fact that this will limit additional information until after people have voted on whether Charlie White should take over Rokita’s office is purely incidental.
Rokita is a candidate for office and has made such a very big pretense over being tough on voter fraud, so he had to make like he’s doing something. But, he’s also a loyal party guy, and there’s unlikely to be anything about the investigation that makes White look good, competent, or marginally qualified for Rokita’s job. So, making a show of investigating without actually providing the public with any information about the investigation is about the best he can do. Advance Indiana suggests that these are public records and should be released.
Chris Worden notes the clubby nature of this situation, with both Rokita and White coming out of the Wabash college political science program in 1992. (Having come out of a political science program (of a different school) in 1993, I’m getting closer and closer to the Kurt Vonnegut quote, “True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.”)
I have many of the public records, and provided same to the Hamilton County Prosecutor and to the Secretary of State’s staff, based on my own investigation which started Charlie White’s political nightmare. Anyone who wants to see these documents may email me. I never really expected Rokita’s office to do anything, but as the guy who stirred up all the trouble, I would love to see the public portion of what the got. I wonder if a Public Records Access Act request would do any good?
Greg, my hunch is that it’s probably exempt from disclosure, but such a request should be made if there’s even the slightest ambiguity. If I have time this weekend I’ll do some
research.
The real issue is that even if a Court would find that the public could seek the records, could an order be entered before the election, and if Rokita ignored it, what, if anything, would be the repercussions? I’m not well-versed on the penalties, but aren’t they something ridiculously minor? If so, the calculation is pretty simple for Rokita. Hold out, get a lawsuit, get more time for my lawyer to respond, and if that fails, ignore the court order until I’m a member of Congress. Problem solved.
The Indy Star endorsed Rokita, did they not? And listed him as a candidate in the wrong district if I am not mistaken. Listed him as 4th District on one page and 5th District on a different page.
Where is a competent, gutsy media when the public need one, pray tell?
I made an official request of the Secretary of State’s office for their report, and the 256 pages of public documents, and they flatly refused, even tho I was the first person to provide them with the results of my own investigation, based also on public records. I then made a formal complaint to the Public Access Counselor, but I do not expect results on this prior to next Tuesday.
The disgusting part of this is the “old boy” system between Rokita and White covering each other until the ballots are cast. Rokita is essentially making secret 256 pages of public documents that bear on a statewide race.
Do EITHER of them deserve the public trust?
And now, a new complaint has been made against Charlie White for violating Indiana election law, this one “only” a misdemeanor:
http://www.hcdemocrats.org/media/Charlie_Complaint_Release.pdf
Why would ANYONE vote for this man to enforce Indiana election law? He can’t seem to follow it himself.
Greg,
That is priceless about White. “He can’t seem to follow himself!”
Greg,
That is priceless about White. “He can’t seem to follow himself!”
Kind of like “Please elect me before I break the voting laws again.”