Election Follies, Part 11

I have no mercy whatsoever for Republicans or Democrats who violate election laws. They wrote the laws. There can be no excuses from them.

So, get a load of this report out of Fort Wayne, from the Journal Gazette:

The Allen County Republican Party chairman fired the party’s executive director Monday after it was discovered that several party candidates for township offices could be bumped from the ballot because of forged signatures.

Steve Shine, party chairman, said he terminated Executive Director Douglas Foy’s contract with the party after he confirmed the signatures were not those of the candidates. Shine declined to comment on whether Foy signed the documents, but said as executive director, he was in charge of ensuring that the forms were properly completed.

...

Pam Finlayson, county elections director, said the party was having problems meeting the deadline. While she still required the candidates to file the primary part of the form on time, she allowed a secondary part of the form, acknowledging a candidate’s consent to campaign finance laws, to be filed later.

When the secondary parts of the form began arriving, Finlayson said she noticed that the candidate’s signature on one part did not match the candidate’s signature on another part. She said this was evident on about 10 filings. She did not have the exact number or the names of the candidates whose forms were in question late Monday, but they were all for township level offices.

The Libertarian Party just had eleven candidates withheld from the ballot for failing to meet a technicality. Well! What's good for the goose is good for the gander. These ten or so Republican candidates need to disappear from the ballot immediately if the law is the law, and the Elections Division is providing consistent outcomes.

Now personally, I think the booting of candidates is a great disservice to the people of our state, but the bar has been set. I think a better outcome would be that the eleven Libertarian candidates would be certified, and a fine levied against the Libertarian Party for missing the technicality, and everyone there moves on.

In the case of the Republicans, the best outcome might be that the ten or so candidates are put on the ballot, and the Executive Director might face some jail time, if in fact he committed perjury when forging the signatures of candidates.

Jail? From Indiana Code:

IC 3-14-1-13
Filing fraudulent reports
Sec. 13. A person who knowingly files a report required by IC 3-9 that is fraudulent commits a Class D felony.
As added by P.L.5-1986, SEC.10.

All of the State's campaign forms specify at the bottom of the first page:

A person who knowingly files a fraudulent report commits a Class D felony (IC 3-14-1-13).

Felons go to jail. Pretty simple.

Republicans and Democrats wrote this law. Republicans and Democrats should therefore be the standard bearer and the expemplars in how to do this correctly, and how to bear the consequences when this is done fraudulently- if there is to be integrity in our elections.

Hat tip to Mike Sylvester!

Vacation, Then Home Stretch

The Koles are going for some extended family visits in Ohio and camping in upstate New York. I'll be back to hit the campaign trail with a vengeance on Wednesday, August 16.

It happens that both my mom's and Ame's mom's birthdays are the same calendar day- August 13th. Plus, two of Ame's grandparents are sharing a 90th birthday party. So, there will be plenty of candles and cake & ice cream.

Many family members are going to Adirondack Park for Ame's mom's birthday. Ame & I will get there ahead of the gang so that we can camp at Long Pond, our most favored camp site in the Adirondacks, near the very small town of Speculator, NY. With any luck, NYC friends will meet us there.

Alex with New Yorkers Steve Wainstead and Greg McNair, as we prepare to bushwhack our way to the top of the granite mountain we jokingly refer to as "Mount Wainstead". It has an expansive plateau at the top, and tons of wild blueberries, which will be ready for harvest. July, 2005.

Greg, Mike, Ame, and Steve freeze while posing at Long Pond, in Fall 2003.

This will be Isabel's first wilderness camping experience. I suspect it will be more trying on Ame & I than on her, as we try to keep her safe. She's very independent and curious- a good thing, to be sure! Alex is 14, and can handle a full-sized pack, which makes the adults smile. This will be his fourth trip to Long Pond. I think this will be my 10th trip here.

We positively love it here, especially once black fly season is over. This particular location is very isolated- it receives fewer than 200 hikers/year! Without any light pollution, the stargazing is phenomenal. We really hope an early start fosters an enjoyment in nature in Isabel.

Mike & Alex strike the Age of Exploration pose atop the granite mountain, well above our campsite on Long Pond, seen in the background. The dogs will stay in Indiana this time. July 2005.

Reports of My Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated

Supporters in Northwest Indiana, please remain calm. I understand an error has been made in a news report in the Michigan City News Dispatch, in their "Political Notebook" section:

Libertarians say law ‘outrageous'

LaPORTE - Greg Kelver of the Libertarian Party of LaPorte County said Thursday the state Libertarian Party is working to reverse an Indiana Election Division ruling that has refused to certify 11 Libertarian candidates, including Andy Wolf, who had filed to run against Democratic incumbent Scott Pelath in District 9.

Eight candidates are for the state House, one is running for secretary of state and two are running for federal office.

I am the Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State, and was filed correctly according to the law. While I agree with Kelver that the law is outrageous, I am not one of the candidates subjected to the Division's refusal to certify.

There is one Libertarian candidate for statewide office (Chad Roots, for Auditor) who the Division refuses to certify for the November ballot.

Fear not. I will be on the November ballot. A vote for Kole is a vote for ending ballot restrictions and shenanigans.

Kole's Wish List

Supporters routinely ask me where I need help in the campaign. Here's one of the most important things, and it doesn't involve writing a check for $100.

Take the day off for Election Day, and work a polling place. Wear a purple Kole t-shirt and hand out my palm cards.

Having a person at the polling place is generally good for an extra 2-5% at that location. Many voters do not actually decide who to vote for until the moment they arrive at the polling place. Let's have a vote for Kole be that last-minute decision.

Email me to make your commitment for Election Day today, at mikekole@msn.com. Let me know that you will be there, and that you will need a t-shirt, palm cards, and yard signs for the polling place.

Do this, and you will have done a great thing for me.

Of course, if you want to write that check for $100, please send it to:

Committee to Elect Mike Kole
1427 W. 86th Street, Box 227
Indianapolis IN 46260

Or, follow this link to donate online.

Your support is greatly appreciated!