On Thursday, Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White got a huge lump of coal from an Indianapolis judge. White was told that he lost his eligibility for the post by in the wrong precinct in the 2010 Republican primary, and that Democrat Vop Osili is the rightful secretary of state. However, it now looks like White will stay in office at least through the first of the year after the judge stayed his ruling.
White notified the court Friday that he intends to appeal and asked Marion Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg to stay his ruling until a higher court hears the case.
Rosenberg scheduled a Jan. 3 hearing on White's request and said his ruling to remove White from office wouldn't take effect before the hearing.
That means White will not be removed from office until Jan. 3, at the earliest.
White isn't out of the soup yet. He still faces trial on January 30 on seven felony counts. He not only voted in the wrong precinct, but continued to serve on the town council of an Indianapolis suburb after moving out of town. He'll automatically lose his office if he's convicted on even one count. It's hard to see how he comes out of this, since he admits that he voted in the wrong precinct. He claims he simply forgot to change his address, but Rosenberg didn't buy that excuse and it's hard to believe the jury in his criminal case will either.
Meanwhile, state attorney general Greg Zoeller is getting into the act--he announced that he's going to appeal Rosenburg's ruling.
"My office ultimately represents the State and the public interest," Zoeller said in a news release, "and as the State's chief legal officer it is not necessary to wait to appeal until the Recount Commission can meet and vote on seeking an appeal. The Attorney General's Office already has the independent authority to assert the legal interest of the State and bring some clarity and certainty out of the confusion."
At first glance, Zoeller looks like he's defending election fraud. However, there's a method to Zoeller's madness. If Osili is declared secretary of state by default, the Republicans will have legally received no votes in that race and will be knocked down to minor-party status. That, in turn, means the Republican Senate candidate will have to be chosen at a nominating convention--which makes it very likely that Dick Lugar will get teabagged Bob Bennett-style by state treasurer Richard Mourdock. On the other hand, if White loses his office as a result of the felony charges, Mitch Daniels will be able to appoint another Republican to fill out the rest of the term. In other words--it's better for both White and the GOP if he loses his office in the criminal case rather than because of eligibility.