Broden: Significant changes in voter registration office.
Accused of conspiring to forge signatures on petitions to place Democratic candidates on the state primary ballot in 2008, the two were convicted Thursday on multiple felony counts after three days of testimony.
Morgan faces up to 22 years in prison, and Blythe faces up to 75 years.
Co-defendants Pam Brunette and Bev Shelton, who pleaded guilty prior to this week, each face more than 10 years but fewer than 15 years.
A sentencing hearing for all four of the defendants has been set for 1:30 p.m. June 17.
"Certainly I respect the decision of the jury," state Sen. John Broden, D-South Bend, a South Bend attorney and chair of the county Democratic Party, said Friday. "I know they had all the information and all the facts before them, so I respect the decision they reached."
He added, "Certainly for so many reasons, I wish this entire incident had never occurred, but certainly I think it's important for the public to know the party fully cooperated with the state police investigation, and we've made significant changes in the Voter Registration Office, both from a personnel standpoint and a policy standpoint."
Brunette, who had been the Democratic board member in the office of Voter Registration under Morgan, has since been replaced by Terry Coleman. Shelton also no longer works in the office.
"Certainly I want everyone in St. Joseph County to know that anyone on the ballot in St. Joseph County to have certainty that those signatures have been reviewed very carefully," Broden said.
If the case proves anything, Broden said, it's that "whether in our own community or our own family ... we all know good people make mistakes in their lives.
"But I do believe in redemption," he said, "and I do believe that what you do throughout your life is what you'll be judged by, not one single incident."
He said he did not believe the verdict would result in any long-term damage to the party.
"This whole trial, this whole case, never, at any time, was any candidate alleged to have been involved; no officeholder was alleged to have been involved," he said. "And I think it's important to note that the St. Joseph County prosecutor who handled this was a Democrat.
"So I think those things mitigate any short-term damage to the party," he said.
The chair of the county Republican Party, meanwhile, called the trial "fair" and the verdict "just."
"We hope that this is the beginning of the end of the culture of corruption that has plagued our county for far too long," Deb Fleming said in a statement.
She added, "We ask that local Democrats continue to disavow this type of behavior and move towards professionalism. Let's get to work creating a brighter future for Saint Joseph County."
In broader terms, the case raises questions about the electoral process in Indiana, and whether it's time to drop the requirement that certain candidates carry petitions in order to get on the ballot, according to Ed Feigenbaum of INGroup, a provider of news about Indiana government and politics.
"We've seen this discussion, we've seen actual changes in many other states in recent years, particularly as petition cases get subsumed in bigger questions related to election law, including privacy issues, whether to disclose who signed petitions and stuff like that," Feigenbaum said.
At the same time, he said, "It's disappointing that anyone involved with the system would end up being charged and convicted of a crime that certainly detracts from all of their contributions over the years to the system and people's confidence in the system."
At the time of the crimes, Indiana had the second-toughest requirements in the country to gain access to the ballot, 500 signatures from registered voters in each congressional district.
Last month, Virginia lowered its requirements from 10,000 votes to 5,000, making Indiana's the most exclusionary ballot in the nation. Even though Virginia requires 500 more signatures than Indiana, Virginia's population is about 1.7 million higher.
The person in charge of elections in Indiana, Secretary of State Connie Lawson, also weighed in.
"I'm pleased the jury found Butch Morgan ... guilty on all counts," Lawson, a Republican, said in a statement. "Tampering with an election makes citizens question the integrity of our electoral process and our government. This behavior can't be tolerated and this verdict will serve as a warning to those who ponder jeopardizing the security of our elections in the future."
She added, "I applaud the South Bend Tribune and Howey Politics for digging this up and (former Secretary of State) Congressman Todd Rokita for pushing prosecutors to take this case."
source: wsbt
No comments:
Post a Comment