GOP calls out Beth White for violating well-known election law
Chairman Tim Berry questions how voters can trust
White to oversee the integrity of the election process
INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 22, 2014) – The Indiana Republican Party plans to file a complaint against the Democrat candidate for Secretary of State Beth White for violating state election law.
Indiana Republican Party Chairman Tim Berry said post card-sized campaign literature being distributed by Beth White and her campaign does not include the required disclaimer that provides voters with transparency on political expenditures.
“Democrat Beth White is asking voters to make her the state’s chief election officer, but she failed to follow a very well-known state election law,” Berry said. “Perhaps shorter isn’t better when it refers to the shortcut Beth White took in deciding to distribute political literature without disclosing who is actually paying for it. Who is paying for this material? How many pieces of this literature have White and her campaign distributed? How can voters trust Beth White to oversee the integrity of the election process when she is already blatantly disregarding commonly known election law?”
Berry plans to file a written complaint with the Indiana Election Division and the Beth White for Indiana campaign.
According to the Indiana Election Division, a disclaimer identifies who paid for certain political material and whether any candidate approves of the material if the material is paid for by someone other than the candidate. Under Indiana law, candidates for state office must print a disclaimer on literature if the material clearly identifies the candidate and expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate. The penalty is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine or one year in jail or both.
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Photo of side one of political literature piece:
http://www.indgop.org/sites/default/files/BW%20Lit%20Piece%20%20-%20Side%201_0.JPG
Photo of side two of political literature piece:
http://www.indgop.org/sites/default/files/BW%20Lit%20Piece%20-%20Side%202_0.JPG
