FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: June 13, 2017
Indiana Republican Party Chair Calls on Indiana Democrats to Apologize to
Secretary of State Connie Lawson & Indiana State Police
Latest Case of Voter Registration Fraud is Regular Pattern of Behavior from Democrats
INDIANAPOLIS – In the fall of 2016, just weeks before a pivotal presidential election, reports of potentially fraudulent voter registration activity become public as the Indiana State Police launched an investigation into irregularities in 56 Indiana counties and Secretary of State Connie Lawson encouraged Hoosiers to double check their voter registration before heading to the polls. The focus of that investigation was the Indiana Voter Registration Project, a Democrat organization with ties to former U.S. Senator Harry Reid and former President Bill Clinton.
While Secretary of State Lawson and the Indiana State Police took responsible and appropriate actions to protect the integrity of the 2016 elections, Indiana Democrats didn’t agree and attacked them both with force. In fact, under the leadership of Chairman John Zody, Indiana Democrats quickly defended the practices of the Indiana Voter Registration Project as merely a series of human clerical errors.
And now, following the filing of charges against the organization and twelve individuals who engaged in this fraudulent behavior, Indiana Republican Party State Chairman Kyle Hupfer is calling on his counterpart, Indiana Democrat Party Chair John Zody, to issue an immediate apology to Secretary of State Connie Lawson and the Indiana State Police – who both recognized this problem for what it was and took immediate action to stop and investigate the problem.
“There can be no debate that it was irresponsible for agents of the Indiana Democrat Party to stand in front of cameras and declare there was nothing to see before an investigation was complete, and to then attack Secretary Lawson and the Indiana State Police,” said Indiana Republican Party State Chairman Kyle Hupfer.
He added, “These continued instances of fraud are not irregularities, but in fact a regular pattern of behavior consistent with a longstanding culture of corruption. If Chairman Zody is serious about eliminating election fraud, the first step is to admit that election fraud does exist, that this Indiana Democrat organization has systematically engaged in it and that the response of the Indiana Democrat Party was dead wrong.
“So today I call upon Chairman Zody to issue an immediate apology to Secretary of State Connie Lawson and the Indiana State Police who recognized this problem for what it was and took immediate action to stop and investigate the problem. Furthermore, I would expect Chairman Zody to put his weight behind a full-fledged effort to eradicate from his ranks election fraud and abuse before Hoosiers take to the polls in November 2018.
“Call it voter fraud, call it election fraud, or simply call it a felony election crime, it doesn’t matter. These actions diminish the integrity of elections and it would be refreshing and welcomed if our counterparts on the other side of the aisle would stop making excuses for or defending this type of behavior and instead start working to stop it.”
Background
When allegations of fraudulent voter registration activity came to the surface in late 2016, Indiana Democrats were quick to dismiss the claims and pretend nothing untoward was happening.
Indiana Democrat Voter Protection Director Dismissed Allegations as Merely Clerical Errors - Shortly after the Indiana State Police confirmed their investigation into potentially fraudulent voter registration activity in 56 Indiana counties, the Indiana Democrat Party’s director of voter protection said, on the record, that the actions were “voter registration errors in counties across the state.” She went on to say that “sometimes there may not be errors at all but irregularities in registration names such as Bob and Robert.” (Victoria T. Davis & PJ O’Keefe, “Is Indiana seeing voter fraud or not? Partisan rhetoric inflaming the facts on both sides,” WRTV, 10/20/16)
Additionally, the Indiana Democrat Party, and agents of the Party, personally accused Secretary of State Connie Lawson of engaging in partisan behavior rather than simply doing her job to protect the integrity of our electoral system.
Indiana Democrat Party wrongly accused Secretary of State Lawson of engaging in ‘voter suppression’- The Indiana Democrat Party itself, despite evidence to the contrary, claimed that in doing her job, Secretary Lawson was engaging in a “partisan attempt at voter suppression.” (Rafael Sanchez, “State police superintendent confirms voter registration fraud,” WRTV, 10/21/16)
But that wasn’t enough. Indiana Democrats ratcheted up the rhetoric.
Democrats reportedly ‘lashed out’ at Secretary Lawson and were ‘crying foul’ over the allegations- FOX 59 reported on October 20, 2016, that “Indiana’s Democrat Party lashed out…at Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson’s handling of allegations of voter registration fraud.” Another outlet, the Evansville Courier & Press, said that Democrats were “crying foul” over the allegations. (“Democrats critical of Indiana Secretary of State’s handling of voter registration fraud allegations,” FOX 59, 10/20/16; Zach Osowski & Chelsea Schneider, “Democrats blast Indiana ‘voter fraud’ talk as partisan, Evansville Courier & Press, 10/20/16)
Previous Documented Instances of Democrat Election Fraud in Indiana
Of course, the problem with election fraud within the ranks of the Indiana Democrat Party has been well-documented in recent years. Here’s a list of the most recent examples:
August 2016-June 2017: Indiana Voter Registration Project Investigated, Twelve Individuals Charged with Voter Registration Fraud - Twelve individuals connected with the Indiana Voter Registration Project, a Democrat outfit, were charged with voter registration fraud stemming from an investigation that began in the final weeks of the 2016 election. (Vanessa Williams, “Indiana voter registration group, employees charged with falsifying applications,” Associated Press, 6/9/17)
October 2011: 65 Combined Felony Indictments in Jennings County - Three Democrat Party activists were indicted on a combined 65 felony quotes of voter fraud in Jennings County, Indiana. (Brian Sanders, “3 face vote fraud charges in Jennings County,” The Republic, 10/21/11)
October 2011-June 2013: Hundreds of Ballot Access Signatures Forged in Obama-Clinton 2008 Primary Uncovered; Former St. Joe Dem Chair Sentenced to Jail - Hundreds of petition signatures used to get then-Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the 2008 Indiana primary ballot were found to be fraudulent. Four individuals ultimately were convicted or pleaded guilty to the crimes and one of them, former St. Joseph County Democrat Chair Butch Morgan, was sentenced to jail. (Eric Shawn, “Indiana Dem official sentenced to prison for ’08 ballot fraud in Obama-Clinton primary,” FOX News, 6/17/13)
May 2011-February 2013: Special Prosecutor Appointed to Investigate Democrat Mayor Accused of Absentee Ballot Fraud; Mayor Later Pleaded Guilty to Electioneering - A special prosecutor was assigned to investigate allegations that the incumbent Democrat mayor and a city employee personally picked up absentee ballots from Austin residents. The mayor later pleaded guilty to electioneering. (Marty Randall, “Special Prosecutor assigned, ISP investigation starts on voter fraud complaint,” The Giveaway, 5/3/11; “Austin Mayor pleads guilty to electioneering,” WLKY, 2/5/13)
June 2010: Democrat Muncie City Councilman Convicted on Absentee Ballot Fraud - A long-time Democrat city councilman in Muncie was convicted on three counts of “illegally handling absentee ballots in the 2007 city election.” (“Muncie councilman convicted of mishandling ballots,” Indy.com, 6/25/10)
October 2008: Allegations of Calls Made to Voters Telling Them to Vote “By Phone” - Calls were made to St. Joseph County residents telling them voting they could vote by phone rather than show up to the polls on Election Day. (“Possible vote fraud in South Bend,” Fox 28, 10/30/08)
October 2008: Thousands of Voter Registrations Forms Submitted in Lake County Rejected - “A large portion of the 5,000 registration forms” submitted by activist group ACORN were rejected by the Lake County Elections Board due to fake signatures and falsified information (registrations from the deceased and non-existent individuals such as a ‘Jimmy John’s’). (Bill Dolan, “County rejects large number of invalid voter registrations,” NWI Times, 10/2/08)
December 2004: Absentee Ballot Fraud Charges in Anderson Municipal Election - Seventeen felony counts, “including multiple counts of voter fraud, aiding in voter fraud and attempted obstruction of justice, all involving absentee ballots during the 2003 Anderson municipal election” were filed against an Anderson city employee and the former Democrat County Chairman. The case was later dismissed because prosecutors took too long to set a trial date. (Shawn McGrath, "Hearing set in voter fraud case," Herald Bulletin, 4/24/08)
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