Indiana Election Chief Found Guilty Of Voter Fraud

Published February 4, 2012 8:18AM (EST)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's top elections official could lose his job and his freedom after jurors convicted him of multiple voter fraud-related charges on Saturday, leaving the fate of the post unknown.

Secretary of State Charlie White has held on to his office for more than a year despite being accused of lying about his address on voter registration forms.

A Hamilton County jury found White guilty of six of seven felony charges, including false registration, voting in another precinct, submitting a false ballot, theft and two counts of perjury. He was acquitted on one fraud charge.

White expressed no outward emotion as the verdict was read, and later said outside the courtroom: "'I'm disappointed for my family and the people who supported me."

White and his attorneys said the fate of his elected position remains unknown and ultimately may have to be decided by the governor or state supreme court. "We will review our options," he said."

The jury verdict came after a weeklong trial in which White, who had vigorously protested the charges in hearings before a state elections panel, presented no defense.

Prosecutors said he used his ex-wife's address instead of a condo he had with his fiancée because he didn't want to give up his $1,000-per-month Fishers Town Council salary after moving out of that district. He faced seven felony charges, including voter fraud, perjury and theft.

White, 42, has said the charges ignored a complicated personal life in which he was trying to raise his 10-year-old son, plan his second marriage and campaign for the statewide office he won that November. He said he stayed at his ex-wife's house when he wasn't on the road campaigning and did not live in the condo until after he remarried.

No sentencing was set.

State law bars anyone convicted of a felony from remaining in office. It wasn't immediately clear how quickly White could be replaced or who might succeed him.

A Marion County judge already has ruled that White should be replaced by Democrat Vop Osili, the man he defeated by about 300,000 votes in the November 2010 election, but that ruling is on hold pending an appeal.

But state law allows the governor — in the case, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels — to appoint a successor.

White has resisted calls to resign from Democrats and Republicans, including Daniels.

During his closing arguments, special prosecutor Dan Sigler Jr. argued that White knew that he was committing voter fraud but did it anyway for political power.

"If we aren't going to enforce election law against the secretary of state of Indiana, who are we going to enforce it against?" Sigler said.

White's attorney, Carl Brizzi, rested Thursday without presenting a defense.

Brizzi told the jury during his closing arguments Friday that White's name was on the condo's bills and documents because he was paying for his fiancee and her children to live there, not because he was himself living at that address.

"Their case is based entirely on assumption, innuendo and leaps," Brizzi said.

White maintains he was staying at his ex-wife's house when he wasn't on the road campaigning and did not live in the condo until after his remarriage.


By Salon Staff

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