INDIANAPOLIS —
The Indiana attorney general’s office says it will object to a legal move by Democrats to put their 2010 secretary of state candidate in office following Republican Secretary of State Charlie White’s conviction on voter fraud charges.
The Indiana Democratic Party on Monday asked the state appeals court to order Democrat Vop Osili be declared the state’s elections chief. Gov. Mitch Daniels already has named the office’s top counsel, Jerry Bonnet, as interim secretary of state.
A jury found White guilty early Saturday of six felony counts, forcing his removal from the politically powerful office. But White’s lawyer said he will seek to have the charges reduced to misdemeanors, which would allow White to return to office. That would come at a Feb. 23 sentencing hearing in Noblesville.
The attorney general’s office said late Monday it would seek an expedited review from the state Supreme Court.
“What the public needs now is an objective and unambiguous ruling from the Indiana Supreme Court to bring certainty, clarity and finality to this situation, 15 months after the election. It was highly unusual for a trial court to overrule a unanimous administrative decision of the Recount Commission in a statewide election, so at the very least the trial court’s ruling ought to be reviewed by the state’s highest court,” Attorney General Greg Zoeller said in a statement.
The attorney general’s office is representing the state recount commission, which found White’s candidacy was legitimate in a 3-0 vote last June. But Democrats contested that decision, and Marion Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg ruled in December that the commission should have certified Osili, who lost to White by about 300,000 votes, as the winner.
Rosenberg later stayed his own order pending appeals by the recount commission and others. But Democrats argued in their motion filed with the appeals court that the stay is no longer needed since White has vacated the office.
Democratic lawyers also argued that White’s weekend conviction on six felony criminal charges, including lying about his address on voter registration forms, supported their argument that White wasn’t an eligible candidate for the office.
State News
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