Mike Pence accused of voter suppression after state police raid voter registration program
A progressive advocacy group is launching an advertising campaign accusing Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who also is the Republican vice-presidential nominee, of sanctioning 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.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/Mike-Pence-accused-of-voter-suppression-after-state-police-raid-Indiana-registration-program.html
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