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.