Group accuses Mike Pence of voter suppression after state police raid registration program inIndiana

[Bill USA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/15/group-accuses-mike-pence-of-voter-suppression-after-state-police-raid-registration-program-in-indiana/

A progressive advocacy group is launching an advertising campaign accusing Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who also is the Republican vice-presidential nominee, of allowing voter suppression after state police raided the offices of a voter registration program aimed at signing up African Americans.

Patriot Majority USA will place the ads on black-oriented radio stations and in print and online with black newspapers throughout the state starting Saturday, said the group’s director, Craig Varoga. Patriot Majority is affiliated with the Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC that supports Democratic candidates.

On Oct. 4, one week before the state’s deadline to register to vote, state police raided the Indianapolis office of the Indiana Voter Registration Project, seizing computers, cellphones and records. The state police launched an investigation in late August after elections officials in Hendricks County, a suburb of Indianapolis, alerted authorities to some applications that seemed amiss. A spokesman for the state police told local news media that “at least 10” applications were confirmed to be fraudulent.

Varoga estimates that 45,000 people, most of them African Americans, might not be able to vote on Nov. 8 because their applications were seized during the raid. The group has asked the Justice Department to investigate, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, an advocate for voting rights, sent a letter to Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson asking her to take steps to ensure that eligible voters who signed up through the voter registration drive will not be disenfranchised.
(more)

[anamandujano]

1. Holy shit!

[IndianaDave]

2. Welcome to Indiana

This is completely in keeping with Pence's political philosophy. You may remember that when he was in Congress, and there was a Congressional movement to shut down the government, he held a news conference in D.C., where he repeatedly screamed "Shut it down!" An effective, working government seems to make him uneasy. Eventually, in this red, red state, he was elected Governor. My Democratic friends and I are still groaning. He went on to push through voter ID laws, made Indiana a "Right to Work" state, refused to participate in the Medicaid program attached to the Affordable Care Act, tried to force through a discriminatory "Freedom of Religion" act (RFRA) - which lost the state millions of dollars, before he "modified" it, and, most recently, tried to refuse Syrian refugees in Indiana, before the feds ruled against him - among other negative policies he has pursued asGovernor. Democracy does not appear to be his favored form of government. And voting seems to scare him. With good reason. No surprises here.