Letter to The Honorable Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General Department of Justice

Letter

Today Rep. Todd Rokita sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that the Department of Justice open an investigation into the fraudulent petition signatures submitted in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District during the 2008 Presidential Primary:

"Fair elections are fundamental to the legitimacy of our system of government. These revelations of blatant and widespread petition forgery during the 2008 Presidential Primary in St. Joseph County call into question the legitimacy of the entire process, including voter registrations and absentee ballot applications. For that reason I have written to Attorney General Holder requesting that the Department of Justice immediately open an investigation.

Indiana has been confronted with a series of serious federal election law violations. In the fall of 2008, my then office provided federal law enforcement with hundreds of fraudulent Lake County voter registration forms submitted by ACORN organizers. In spite of the clear evidence of fraud in this case, to date it remains unresolved by the U.S. Attorney with jurisdiction over this matter.

As Indiana Secretary of State I worked to protect the integrity of Indiana elections and I continue those efforts as a member of the Committee on House Administration, which oversees federal elections. To that end, I urge the Department of Justice to seriously investigate this issue."

Text of Rep. Rokita's letter to Attorney General Holder is below.

October 19, 2011
The Honorable Eric Holder
U.S. Attorney General
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Holder:

As Indiana's former Secretary of State and Chief Elections Officer, and now as a member of the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal elections, I write to urge you to immediately open an investigation into the allegations of fraud in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District.

As you may know, Indiana has been confronted with a series of serious federal election law violations. In the fall of 2008, my then office provided federal law enforcement with hundreds of fraudulent Lake County voter registration forms that were created by ACORN. In spite of the clear evidence of fraud in this case, to this date it remains unresolved by the U.S. Attorney with jurisdiction over this matter.

And now, another very serious allegation of fraud exists, again involving the 2008 election, and specifically the Democratic Presidential Primary in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District.

Multiple press reports have now definitively identified more than 40 fake signatures on voter petitions submitted in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District, all by the 2008 Obama campaign and its supporters. According to these reports the accusations of petition fraud are clear.

In fact, former Governor Joe Kernan has come forward to say that he did not sign the documents bearing his name. In an interview with the South Bend Tribune, he noted that neither the signature nor the printing of his name looked like his writing. Again, these are disturbing allegations, and if true, suggest a blatant disregard for Indiana election law, and in turn federal election law.

Given that President Obama's ballot petition only held 534 signatures in this district, and that Indiana law required 500 valid signatures in each Congressional district, these false signatures, had they been properly disposed of at the time, would have prevented President Obama's name from having appeared on the primary ballot. In addition, further press reports suggest that there existed a conspiracy consisting of more than a half dozen individuals who actively worked to knowingly produce these false petition signatures.

As multiple candidates are now again gathering the petitions necessary for ballot access it is imperative that action be taken to ensure that Indiana's ballot access laws cannot be so cavalierly disregarded.

For these reasons, I respectfully request that you open an investigation into the false signatures in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District, and that you provide a public statement on the investigation as soon as possible. I appreciate your attention to this matter and request that you and your office keep me informed as the process continues.

Sincerely,

Todd Rokita
Member of Congress

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