DEMOCRATS QUASH EARLY VOTING IN WARRICK COUNTY – FOR NOW

In what can only be described as a blatant effort to keep voters who may not support their candidates away from the polls, the Warrick County Democrat Party has denied the voters of Warrick County access to satellite offices in Newburgh and Lynnville for the 2010 election cycle.

THE FACTS

Sometime in January or February of this year, I (Republican Chairman Rick Martin) spoke with Democrat Chairman Terry White about the satellite office in Ohio Township. White raised an issue about the library’s refusal to allow campaigning at the library during the 2008 election. It was suggested that we meet with members of the Library Board to reach some sort of agreement that would permit campaigning outside the library during use of the library as a satellite office in this year’s primary and general elections. Nothing was mentioned at that time by White as to the issue of whether it was “fair” to have a satellite office in Ohio Township only.

In emails sent to Warrick County Clerk Sarah Topper in late February, White and Sullivan first raised their “concerns” that it was somehow unfair to have a satellite office in Ohio Township “given the fact there are no other satellites available in other parts of the county.” On March 4th, the Election Board held its first meeting to discuss the issue of satellite offices. At that meeting, Sullivan stated that “he was in disagreement with having the office in Newburgh” because he felt that “it favors one area of the County over another.” He went on to say that “more needed to be done in the Northern portion of Warrick County.” The issue was tabled.

When the Election Board reconvened on March 10th, several remonstrators and the media were on hand. The Republicans proposed that a second satellite office be opened in Lynnville to accommodate voters in the Northern portion of Warrick County. It was proposed to have the Lynnville office open during the exact same hours as the Ohio Township satellite office. It was pointed out that, in addition to being open for voting for all twenty-nine working days and two Saturdays prior to the election, the Clerk’s Office in Boonville would remain open until 6pm on those evenings that satellite voting would be available in Ohio Township and Lynnville. County Clerk Sarah Topper confirmed that the cost to operate a second satellite office in Lynnville would be around $1,000 for the primary election and that she could reallocate funds to make it happen. She also confirmed that she had begun looking into a site, but had not received any return calls to her inquiries. Sullivan stated that he was satisfied with this proposal, but inexplicably refused to vote in favor of the proposed resolution. Instead, Sullivan voted to table the issue until specific information could be provided as to a location. Democrat Chairman Terry White also indicated his general approval to the proposal.

On Saturday morning, when the Election Board reconvened, Sullivan and White were accompanied by several Democrat cronies, including Don Lee and Warrick County Auditor Larry Lacer. Sarah Topper presented to the Board three suitable locations for a satellite office in Lynnville. The issue was then opened for discussion. Sullivan began by stating that he was opposed to the resolution and would not vote in favor of it. The chairman opened the floor for discussion, and there was a rather heated exchange between supporters and opponents of the resolution. When questioned by Chairman Martin about his opposition to the resolution, Sullivan stated that he was against any satellite office in any location other than Boonville. His suggestion was that only a single satellite office be opened at the library in Boonville, just blocks away from the Clerk’s Office where early voting would already be taking place. Sullivan then commented to Board Chairman Bernie Montgomery that “you made your bed, now you have to sleep in it.” Sullivan and the Democrats present continually referred to the use of the satellite office in 2008 as “an experiment.” The resolution was then put to a vote, with Topper and Montgomery voting in favor of satellite offices in both Ohio Township and Lynnville and Sullivan voting against. Because Indiana law requires a unanimous decision of the Board to approve a satellite office, the resolution failed.

A FEW UNBIASED OBSERVATIONS

Was the use of the satellite office in 2008 an “experiment?” Even if it was, was it a successful one? Notably absent from the Democrats in attendance at the Election Board meetings was former Democrat Clerk Shannon Weisheit who first implemented the Ohio Township satellite office in 2008. In numerous articles written and published by the Courier & Press in 2008, Weisheit never once referred to the satellite office as an “experiment.” When asked about early voting at the satellite office, Weisheit commented that on “the last day of early voting at the Ohio Township Library, we voted more than 700 people.” She went on to comment that “you can feel it in the air almost, that there’s excitement for people to want to get out and vote.” http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/nov/03/results-still-out-early-voting-bdaily-poll-questio/ In another interview, Weisheit commented that "we feel like it (early voting at the Ohio Township Library) really did exceed ... expectations,” and that, because of early voting at the satellite office in the 2008 primary election, “we had 1,500 people who didn't go to the wrong precinct or not know where their precinct is. Anybody in the county can come down there and vote.” http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/oct/11/tiredof-waitingto-vote/ In yet another interview, Weisheit stated that early voting at the Ohio Township Library was a “win-win situation for both the county and the library." http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/apr/23/early-voting-gives-ohio-township-central-library/ In the first week of early voting in 2008 primary, 299 citizens of Warrick County used the Ohio Township Library to cast their votes. Weisheit commented that "I am so excited. That means it's being utilized, and that 299 people won't have to stand in line on Election Day." http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/apr/21/votersgetting-out-early/ I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like just an “experiment”, and if it was, boy what a successful experiment it proved to be. I guess the Democrats are just opposed to success.

What’s with the Democrats flip flop on this issue? After remaining silent for nearly two years after the 2008 election, Sullivan and White suddenly realized just days before the election board meeting on March 4th that it was somehow “unfair” to provide an early voting location in Ohio Township while not providing the same access to voters in the northern parts of the County. Then, after the Republicans tendered a proposal to open an additional satellite office in Lynnville, the Democrats position abruptly changed to opposition to satellite offices anywhere other than Boonville, where the base of their supporters are located. What appeared to start out as a noble gesture on the part of the Democrats to provide equal access to all voters in the county for early voting turned out to be nothing more than an effort to provide greater access to predominately Democrat voters while at the same time making it harder for Republican and Independent voters to get to the polls and cast their ballots.

WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON HERE?

OK, so the preceding section had more than just a few comments and they may have been just a little biased. Sorry, but when it comes to protecting the rights of the voters, I get a little carried away.

I wonder if I am the only person who finds it curious that at the March 10th meeting both White and Sullivan appeared to support the proposed resolution, but three days later vehemently opposed it. Did they check with their “boss” and receive instructions to kill early voting in Ohio Township at all costs? The Democrats Jekyll and Hyde rhetoric regarding satellite offices indicates that, to the Democrats, this is not a fundamental issue of fairness as they initially claimed, but is purely an attempt to disenfranchise voters they feel will not support their candidates in 2010. Voter dissatisfaction with the Democrat agenda appears to be at an all time high and the Democrats appear to be in a position to lose a significant number of seats in the Indiana House of Representatives, including three hotly contested seats in Warrick County. The Democrats have already tried without success to remove Sue Ellspermann from the ballot to ensure that incumbent Russ Stillwell retains his seat in District 74. Now, this effort to block satellite offices appears to be aimed at preventing voters in Ohio Township from coming to the polls and supporting Cheryl Musgrave in her bid to unseat Gail Riecken in House District 77.


Rest assured that the Warrick County Republican Party will continue with its efforts to insure that the voters of Warrick County, regardless of political affiliation, are not disenfranchised by the efforts of the Democrat leadership. We are presently reviewing our options in response to the Democrats attempts to block early voting in all parts of the County except in Boonville. We, the voters of Warrick County, can send a message to the Democrats that we won’t tolerate their interference with our right to vote by turning each and every one of them out of office in November.