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IN Supreme Court considering former Secretary of State White's eligibility as a 2010 candidate

Ex-Secretary of State Charlie White’s permanent successor is closer to being named after the Indiana Supreme Court heard arguments in the case Wednesday.

Last June, the Indiana Recount Commission ruled Charlie White was eligible to run for Secretary of State, despite charges he’d listed an improper address on his voter registration form.  But Marion County judge Louis Rosenberg overturned that decision in December, ordering Democratic runner-up Vop Osili installed. Since White’s conviction in his voter fraud trial earlier this month, Governor Mitch Daniels appointed White’s chief deputy Jerry Bonnet as his temporary replacement.

Deputy Attorney General Stephen Creason represents the Recount Commission and says the fact that White wasn’t registered to vote where he should have been doesn’t negate his election.

“The Commission believes that that technicality cannot be overcome and the voters who voted for you could not be disenfranchised because of that.”

Karen Celestino-Horseman represents the Indiana Democratic Party, which brought the action to remove White from office.  She says the Supreme Court would be sending a mixed message to the public by overturning Rosenberg’s decision.

“When the law tells you to be registered to vote, you have to register legally.  That’s what we require of voters, why wouldn’t we require the same thing of candidates?”

If Rosenberg’s decision is overturned, Governor Daniels can appoint White’s permanent replacement.  If White is ruled to have been ineligible to run, Osili gets the job by virtue of his runner-up finish in the election.

You can watch the oral arguments before the Supreme Court HERE.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.