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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA Marion County judge has ruled that Secretary of State Charlie White was ineligible to be a candidate and the office should go to Democrat Vop Osili, his challenger in the 2010 election.
The ruling, issued Wednesday by Marion Circuit Court Judge Louis Rosenberg, came in response to a civil lawsuit filed by Democrats that sought to have White declared ineligible for office because he allegedly committed voter fraud.
A Hamilton County grand jury indicted White on voter fraud and other charges in March. White, a Republican, has maintained his innocence and a trial is scheduled for September.
Indiana Democrats called for an investigation into White in September 2010 after discovering he voted in the Republican primary the prior spring while registered to vote at his ex-wife's house in Fishers.
The Indiana Recount Commission, made up of two Republicans and one Democrat, voted unanimously in June to let White to keep his job. The Indiana Democratic Party appealed that decision and requested a Marion County judge rule on it.
“The fact that Mr. White knowingly registered in the wrong precinct is sufficient to render him ineligible for the office of Secretary of State,” Rosenberg wrote in the ruling.
Osili was elected to the City-County Council in November and is expected to take office Jan. 1.
This article was originally published at IBJ.com.
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