Photo provided Secretary of State Diego Morales and Attorney General Todd Rokita.
Indiana’s Attorney General Todd Rokita, who is on the Nov. 5 ballot, and the Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales say they are asking for federal help to investigate the citizenship status and voting eligibility of more than 585,000 Hoosier voters.
“Hoosiers deserve to know that only eligible voters are participating in our elections and that legitimate ballots are not being diluted by noncitizens,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, said in a news release.
Morales, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Guatemala, chimed in with, “This is crucial to maintaining the integrity of our elections and increasing public confidence. “Only U.S. Citizens can vote in Indiana. Period.”
Someone in the back of the room just yelled “publicity stunt,” and we agree.
Under Indiana’s Open Records Law, The Republic has requested the list or database of the 585,774 Hoosier voters whose citizenship status and voting status is being questioned. It’s a document created by two state agencies and voting registrations are public documents in Indiana.
What have we gotten so far? This statement: “Staff are processing your request, which includes legal consultation to determine if the requested records contain personal identifying information not available for public release,” Jerold A. Bonnet, general counsel, office of the Indiana Secretary of State.
According to the news release, the letter from Rokita and Morales is addressed to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jaddou, and is looking for verification of names and dates of birth of individuals who registered without state identification or a Social Security number, or those who do not currently live in the U.S.
But oddly enough, on Thursday, Morales was sending out a different kind of news release after an ethics complaint was filed against him by the Indiana chapter of the League of Women Voters accusing him of self-promotion in his efforts to place signage at all voting sites saying only U.S. citizens can vote.
The two-page complaint, shared with the Indiana Capital Chronicle, points to several communications distributed by the office, saying that Morales’ name is printed larger than the name of the office.
“The information, though pertinent to the Office of the Secretary of State, appears to be more of a campaign ploy for the Secretary of State himself even though he’s not on the ballot,” said the letter, which is signed by LWV chapter president Linda Hanson, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
In response, Morales changed his tune about the list verifications quickly in an email to news outlets.
“I do not believe or suspect that 585,774 non-citizens are on Indiana’s voter registration list. I know for a fact however, that there are some non-U.S. citizens on Indiana’s voting rolls who have been issued a government ID which would allow them to vote,” Morales said.
And later in the news release, he said, “Indiana has been a model for election laws, and frankly, I don’t anticipate learning that many non-citizens have landed on our voter registration rolls. Still, voter concerns about non-citizens unfettered access to registration and voting exists, and even looms large for the important upcoming election. I’m not about to dismiss Hoosier’s concerns without first inquiring into the facts.”
There’s that voice in the back of the room yelling,”Which is it, 585,774 or a few?”
And why is the public official in charge of Indiana elections first saying there are 585,774 voter registrations that need to be checked, and then saying he’s doing a great job because there’s probably not that many non-citizens on the voter rolls. Which is it?
Those who work for voter rights have rightly protested vehemently about the “list.”
“This nonsense from the Attorney General and Secretary of State is just intimidation of naturalized citizens and Indiana voters,” said Julia Vaughn, leader of nonpartisan watchdog Common Cause Indiana. “These two elected officials should be inspiring confidence in our elections, not sending political press releases from their official offices.”
“Indiana elections are safe and secure, and the Attorney General and Secretary of State should be above this type of political division just weeks before the election,” Vaughn continued in reporting by the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
We agree — it’s all nonsense. And one of the instigators has even admitted it’s nonsense.
So remember that at the polls if you are early voting or voting on Nov. 5.
It’s time to end the nonsense in Indiana.
