It appears likely the question of Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s eligibility to hold office will be taken up by the state Supreme Court. A judge has ruled that White should not have been on the 2010 ballot.White, a Republican, defeated Democrat Vop Osili in the 2010 general election, but state Democrats contested the outcome, saying White is ineligible to be secretary of state because he used his ex-wife’s address on a voter registration form, allegedly to protect his seat on the Fishers Town Council. Marion Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg agreed this week, declaring Osili the winner.Secretary of State spokesman A.J. Feeney-Ruiz says the ruling will be challenged. "This is unprecedented. There are a lot of moving parts happening right now. My understanding is that the attorney general’s office will be filing an immediate stay and filing for an appeal with the Indiana Court of Appeals," he said. Feeney-Ruiz says White has no plans to step aside."The secretary is the still the secretary of state, will continue to be the secretary of state and will continue to do the work of the secretary of state as he has done and he will continue to do as this process plays out." White also faces criminal charges related to his registration and will stand trial next month. White says he lived at his ex-wife’s house at the time but occasionally stayed at at a residence he and fiancé purchased.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.