INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana - March 3, 2011 - The state’s top election official will face seven felony counts, including voter fraud, perjury and theft, a special prosecutor said today.
Secretary of State Charlie White was accused of intentionally voting in the wrong precinct during the May 2010 primary, a potential felony.
White turned himself in at the Hamilton County Jail Thursday afternoon and was released after posting a $10,000 bond.
If ultimately convicted of a felony, White would have to give up the position that he won by a wide margin over Democrat Vop Osili in November’s election.
White has admitted to voting in a district where he no longer lived. The registered address was a home he had shared on and off with his now ex-wife until 2009.
White, who served on the Fishers Town Council at the time, updated his voter registration after moving into an apartment in the same precinct, following his 2007 divorce. Around February 2009, he moved back into his ex-wife’s home, and in November of that year began splitting time between his ex-wife's home and a newly purchased condo outside the precinct.
In February last year, White changed his voter registration back to his ex-wife’s address, claiming he was unsure when he would close on his new home. White blamed a whirlwind schedule for his failure to change his voter registration later to reflect his new condo’s address.
