I meant to talk about the Indiana Senate race (Coats (R) vs. Ellsworth (D)) next, but this came up in today's Indianapolis Star.
Yes, his name is Vop. He makes fun of himself. Also, he's a Black man running against a White man named Mister Charlie White. Get over it. We have real politics to talk about.
Indiana has one of the most onerous "papers, please"/vote suppression laws in the country for voting at the polls. My wife was unable to vote in the primaries earlier this year because she registered but hadn't yet gotten an Indiana driver's license, and they wouldn't accept her California license at the polls. Of course, the other side would say that it's her own fault for not getting her license in time, or just bringing her passport, but I say that this law violates the Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution, no matter what our current SCOTUS says.
Vop wants to fix that and a few other things. White, however...
has a bit of a problem with following the law himself.
Tully: Should this voter be in charge of state elections?
If there were an election for dogcatcher, and it turned out that one of the leading candidates let his own dogs run wild in his neighborhood, you might think twice about casting a vote for him.
That essentially sums up the controversy surrounding Charlie White, the Republican candidate for secretary of state. White, who hopes to be the state's next chief elections officer, now acknowledges he continued to serve on the Fishers Town Council for months after moving out of the district he represented. Along the way, he also voted in a primary in a precinct in which he apparently no longer lived.
The good news is that Todd Rokita is not running again.
He led the charge to require photo ID at Indiana's polling places, a law he vigorously defended all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the law...agreeing that Indiana is paving the road to better voter confidence for states by preventing voter fraud.
Remember, Republicans have their own Dog Whistle Code language.
Voter Fraud
Anything that lets more poor people and minorities vote. See ACORN
The bad news is that Charlie White is just as bad.
Charlie will protect and defend Indiana’s Voter ID law.
Vop, has this to say about the Voter ID law.
The Vision to Work for Free and Equal Elections
The Indiana Constitution guarantees Hoosiers the most fundamental of all rights promised by a government founded in Democracy–the right to vote. Voting should be one of the simplest and easiest of all of our fundamental rights to exercise. Voting is far from simple in Indiana. Indeed, at no time in the history of Indiana have more barriers been attached to the voting process.
Hoosiers need a voter advocate to serve as the chief election officer of Indiana. Hoosiers need a secretary of state who will not be afraid to take the cause of Hoosier voters to the Statehouse. While we want to make certain that no one casts more than one vote, it does not mean that we must adopt rules and procedures that make it impossible for some voters to even cast a single vote.
and this to say about Charlie White.
Vop Osili Issues Statement on Opponent after Hearing of Allegations of Misconduct
Greg Purvis...presented multiple documents attempting to illustrate that:
- Republican Secretary of State candidate Charlie White did not live within the town council district he was serving during the last several months on the Fishers Town Council, which would have invalidated his seat.
- Charlie White had been knowingly participating in Town Council votes illegally.
- While voting illegally, Charlie White cast votes that impacted the town of Fishers, its businesses, affected contracts that were awarded, affected outcomes on incorporation decisions, and directly breached the public trust.
Vop Osili statement:
"If these charges are true, this is not only alarming and troubling, but it also raises questions as to whether this individual should be given the public’s trust to oversee elections and the voting process.
As our state’s Chief Administrator of Elections, the Secretary of State should set the standards for integrity, and fairness with regard to voting and the election process, and of course adhere to the letter of the law—not bend or break the rules to suit personal gains.
If laws have been broken, I am certain that the appropriate legal authorities will investigate this expeditiously and bring the matter to a prompt conclusion and the citizens of Indiana deserve this.
The voters of Indiana deserve and should demand no less than a Secretary of State who is qualified and committed to protecting against voter fraud, and a Secretary of State who demonstrates that they will protect the sanctity of the voting process and the rights of all Hoosier citizens.
Too many times we are seeing politicians in our state and in Washington who think they are above the law and not responsible to their constituents–and this must be changed. I am committed to bringing the voice of Hoosier families into our statehouse and being a champion and voice of their causes."
Sounds right to me.
See also: Voter-gate? Ballot-gate? Charlie White still under serious pressure
GOP secretary of state candidate committed voter fraud, state’s top Dem says