SOS | Libertarian Party of Indiana

Press Release: Wherry Releases Statement on Prospect of Serving as Indiana S.O.S.

LPIN Editor

Published: February 10, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

“While flattering, the speculation by some media outlets of my winning the Secretary of State race is purely conjecture at this time,” said Mike Wherry, 2010 candidate for the office of Secretary of State in Indiana. “This is unchartered territory being challenged under Indiana’s complex and convoluted election laws. It is premature for any affected party to guess what the outcome of the Indiana Supreme Court ruling will be.”

“We will cross that bridge later this month once we hear the ruling. At that time, we will review the decision and opinions by the justices and make a decision how our campaign will proceed. Of course, if we determine that I have a legitimate claim to hold office, our team will proceed accordingly in working toward that end. I gladly and proudly welcome the opportunity to serve the people of Indiana as their Secretary of State.”

“Throughout this process, however, we are reminded of the great need for election reform. Nothing should be off the table, including a discussion of instituting an “Instant Run-off Voting” system that would have cleared all uncertainty in this issue. The people vote and expect their votes to be counted properly. Potentially making an appointment subject to partisan politics undermines the voice of the voters.”

“In a case where we have a Republican governor possibly appointing a replacement for a Republican Secretary of State, one may question, “What’s wrong with that?” However, imagine the politics involved if we had a Democrat governor making this appointment. Our electoral system is begging for better clarity, transparency and openness. It must change.”

LPIN Press Release: LPIN Chairman Sam Goldstein Calls for Charlie White to Resign

LPIN Editor

Published: February 4, 2012

Secretary of State Charlie White has been found guilty on 6 of the 7 felony counts brought against him. After about 12 hours ofdeliberation, a Hamilton County jury convicted White of three counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury and one count of theft. Governor Daniels appointed an interim Secretary of State, Jerry Bonnet, while White awaits sentencing. White hopes a judge will reduce the felony counts to misdemeanors to remain in office.

“Charlie White’s situation has become untenable, and Indiana needs to move past this sad chapter in Indiana political history,” said Sam Goldstein, Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. “White needs to remove himself from office by resigning, and focus now on his own personal issues. Indiana cannot afford to have a lame-duck Secretary of State for the next three years.”

Goldstein continued, “White’s situation shows the brokenness of our election law. From the murkiness of residency requirements to the potential loss of ballot access for the Republican Party for four years, Indiana’s election laws need serious reform to bring stability, openness, and clarity to our electoral system. White is not the person to lead this wave of reform.”

“It is heartening to see the Rule of Law and justice prevail,” said Jerry Titus, Vice Chairman of the LPIN. “A jury of his peers has found Mr. White guilty and regardless of the potentiality for the reduction of his convictions to misdemeanors, he should immediately resign. To delay this belies Mr. White’s primary consideration of his own self-interest, rather than that of justice and the people of Indiana.”

The Libertarian Party is America, and Indiana’s, third largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. Its vision is for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office, and moving public policy in a libertarian direction.

The Libertarian Party of Indiana was formed in 1974, and has maintained ballot access since 1994.

Should the Indiana Republican Party Lose Ballot Access?

Chris Spangle

Published: March 11, 2011

Jim Shella of WISH-TV is reporting that Secretary of State Charlie White’s votes could be thrown out if convicted of his felony charges. In Indiana, automatic ballot access is gained by hitting the 2% mark in the Secretary of State race ONLY.

According to some legal experts the validity of White’s votes could be challenged, and if thrown out, the IN GOP had no candidate. That means for the next four years, their candidates would have to petition for EVERY race unless the law is changed.

There would only be TWO political parties under the law: The Libertarians and the Democrats.

That sounds pretty good for us, right? So should the Indiana Republican Party lose automatic ballot access? No.

You’d probably find that answer from the LPIN Executive Director a little surprising. In politics, aren’t we supposed to crush our opponents? This would potentially wound our political rival for many years to come. Maybe that’s how the other guys look at it, but I think Libertarians ought to look at politics differently.

Just as economic competition is good, electoral competition is good! It will make our republic stronger if more competing ideas are presented.

Our message on electoral reform has been consistent for decades, and was highlighted in last year’s SOS campaign with Mike Wherry:

Lowering the threshold for ballot access from 2% to .5% to allow more Hoosiers to exercise their 1st Amendment Rights. This would take the number of votes needed from roughly 35,000 to a little less than 10,000.
Maintaining logical district boundaries at every level. Redistricting should be completely independent.
Affording voters electoral recall as an option
Providing voters fair and multi-partisan input on interpretation of election law, expanding the Indiana Election Commission to include any political party that has successfully maintained ballot access for one complete election cycle
Ensuring that our votes are counted and counted properly. We must move away from the paperless electronic voting systems across the state and insist on a paper trail that can be physically audited.
Moving the 2% automatic ballot access requirement to ANY statewide election instead of just the SOS race.

After Mike Wherry raised this last point in his Indianapolis Star editorial interview, the state’s largest newspaper agreed, and argued for Mike’s point in a Sunday editorial stating that ballot access requirements should be expanded to any statewide race.

Ballot access for a political party IS a first amendment right in my point of view. I am not a Republican or a Democrat. I am not even an Independent. I am a proud Libertarian, and a growing number of Hoosiers are as well. We have the right to freely associate with each other to present our ideas to voters as a bona fide organization.

So while I rarely agree with Republicans, their voters should have the opportunity to vote for their ideas. Their voters should not be disenfranchised because of one candidate’s actions.

LPIN Podcast: Mike Wherry LPIN Candidate for Secretary of State

Chris Spangle

Published: April 25, 2010

Delegates to the annual Libertarian Party of Indiana State Convention have nominated Mike Wherry as their 2010 candidate for Secretary of State.

The SOS race is crucial to the LP in that Wherry will need to achieve a minimum of 2% in order to retain automatic ballot access for Libertarians through 2014.

Wherry was interviewed briefly immediately upon his acceptance of the nomination. For info about his campaign, visit his website at www.mikewherry.com

Listen to the new podcast here: 041 – Mike Wherry LPIN Candidate for Secretary of State

The LPIN podcast is a feature of the LPIN, highlighting candidate and member efforts through direct interviews. The program is hosted by Libertarian Party of Hamilton County Chair Mike Kole. You can also subscribe through iTunes by clicking here. You can also search for this podcast in the iTunes directory.

Audio can be used freely if attributed to LPIN and www.lpin.org.

Why The Secretary of State Race Matters

Mike Kole

Published: April 1, 2010

It may come as a surprise to newer Libertarians that in Indiana, the Secretary of State (SOS) race is the most important in the four year cycle.

Not President? Not US Senate or US House, or Governor even? Not by a longshot. The rules of the election status game are tied, for whatever reason, to the outcome of the SOS race every four years. The law says that in order to maintain automatic ballot access, a political party must earn at least 2% in the statewide SOS race. If your party gets 2%, it is declared a ‘minor party’ in Indiana, and has automatic ballot access.

For a political party, ballot access is everything. If a party isn’t on the ballot, it’s a supper club. It is dismissed out of hand by the media and the voters. Because the LPIN is on the ballot, we can win elections, so we are covered by the media and generally included in debates. This not only gives us a chance to win elections. It allows us to broadcast the message of libertarian policy solutions.

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