I’ve been spending some time going over the recent lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Indiana over the state’s Voter ID law.  Although the law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, the League argues it violates the State Constitution.

The League says Voter ID violates Article 2, Section 2 of the Indiana Constitution which reads in part…

A citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen (18) years of age and who has been a resident of a precinct thirty (30) days immediately preceding an election may vote in that precinct at the election.

By imposing a voter show ID, the League says the Legislature is adding an additional qualification to voting  not listed in the Constitution and therefore it should be thrown out.  I agree, the Voter ID law does violate the Constitution, but not in the way the League says it does.

The Constitution says to be qualified to vote you need to meet the age, citizenship and residency requirements.  However, under Indiana law all your ID has to show is your photo, name (which does not have to be identical) an expiration date and be issued by the State of Indiana or the federal government.  It does not have to show your age or your address.    So if the government is going to ask you for your ID in order to vote, shouldn’t the ID have to show your age, residency and proof of citizenship? 

States have always had the power to regulate the time, place and manner of their elections and as long as they don’t do it in a discriminatory manner, they are usually free to do as they please.  So I argue the Voter ID law should be changed to meet the standards outlined in the Constitution.

And by the way, there is an interesting bit of irony in the League’s Voter ID lawsuit.  The League cites the case of Board of Election Commissioners of City of Indianapolis v. Knight to make it’s point that any modification of voting not consistent with the Constitution is illegal.  Well guess what, the point of the case was to deny women the right to vote.

Indiana had passed the Partial Suffrage Act in 1917 in order to give women the right to vote for non-constitutional created offices.  However, a suit was filed to throw the law out, saying the constitution did not grant women the right to vote and the State did not have the power to give women the right to vote without amending the Constitution.

I think its rather odd that the League of Women Voters would try to advance the cause of voting by using a case that was used to deny women the right to vote.

My counterpart Jennifer Wagner has posted a few simple rules that people in politics should follow that can same them a lot of grief and hassle. 

In that spirit, and in the wake of the news of the arrest of City-County Councilor Doris Minton-McNeil, I figured a few more rules might be in order for those who didn’t get it the first time.

1.  If you ever start a sentence with “Do you know who I am?”  you a guaranteed a bad result.

2.  Never do anything with anyone who doesn’t have as much to lose as you do.

3.  Discretion really is the better part of valor and never take anything personally.

4.  It’s okay to say you don’t know, but you’ll find out and get back to the media later.

5.  It’s also okay to change your mind about an issue as long as you have a well-thought out reason for doing it.

6.  Someone who you disagree with 20-percent of the time is with you on the other 80-percent of the time.

7.   Every elected official should have to spend time in both the majority and the minority so they can know how life feels on the other side of the fence.

8.  Stupid really is a stupid does and no one has a monopoly on it or bright ideas. 

9.   It’s not your money.

10.   Be mindful of the toes you step on today because they will connected to the rear end you may have to kiss tomorrow.

If more people would follow these rules, we’d get a lot more done in this country, granted my job would not be as interesting,  but we’d still get more done.

I’m heading out of town this weekend to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary.  My present will be to introduce them to the person who will likely be their daughter-in-law.  That means I will miss the Indiana Democratic State Convention on Saturday.  However, my producer Chris Spangle will be there.  And he will be streaming the convention at his website.  You can check it out here.  He’ll also provide a recap on Sunday which I will post here.  Have a good weekend.

I’m hearing this morning that Marion County Democratic Party Chairman Mike O’Connor may step down as County Chairman after this weekend’s State Democratic Convention.   I’m also told the resignation, if it comes, is far from voluntary.  The name being circulated to replace him is former Chairman Ed Treacy.   So much for being the party of change.

Republican Jon Elrod is abandoning his race for Congress and instead focusing on the 97th House District.  Elrod told  me he was at a crossroads and weighed where the voters were and where he could do the most good.  He said it was better to focus on a hard-fought return to the statehouse rather than go for a long-shot bid for Congress.

The decision may have also been influenced by the fact that in the March 11 special election, Elrod actually beat Democrat Andre Carson by several hundred votes, even though Carson won by a comfortable margin in the total district.

Elrod would have to put on the ballot by the County party.

He faces a challenge from Democrat Mary Ann Sullivan.

IMPD and city officials say expect some changes in the way the department does some of its business in the wake of the arrests and subsequent indictments of three IMPD officers from allegedly engaging in a conspiracy to engage in drug trafficking and conspiracy.

Officers Robert Long, Jason Edwards and James Davis along with Kabec Higgins, a civilian, are charged with marijuana trafficking, possession of a firearm, executing a bogus search warrant, just to name a few.

According to the Justice Department’s complaint the Officers allegedly intercepted marijuana shipments and distributed it on the street.

The FBI was tipped off by other IMPD officers.

IMPD Chief Mike Spears says the officers violated the trust of the public and the department.

In addition, Spears says the department will look into making changes such as implementing random polygraph tests for officers working in narcotics. Prior to the merger, IPD did use polygraphs however the Sheriff’s Department did not.

A decision was made three months prior to consolidation to discontinuing polygraph tests for officers in narcotics.

FOP 86 President Bill Owensby says the union tends to oppose polygraphs because they are not admissible in court and they are not reliable. However, Owensby says the union is willing work with IMPD on the issue to make sure any questions that are asked are phrased properly.

Spears says IMPD may also look at tightening up controls on evidence gathering.

Although this news puts a black eye on law enforcement in Indianapolis, it also shows the fact that it was officers who helped report the wrongdoing of their colleagues and “crossed the blue line” to turn in wrongdoers.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much for an incident like this to harm the reputation of hundreds of men and women who put their lives on the line everyday for the rest of us, because it feeds into the worst charges that levied against officers by those who have no love or respect for the law.

And while I firmly believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty, if these guys are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, they shouldn’t see the light of day for a very long time.

It’s official.   Democratic Candidate for Governor Jill Long Thompson named State Rep. Dennie Oxley of English as her running mate for Lt. Governor.  Although the two disagree on social issues (abortion, gay marriage) they say they united on economic issues and the need to turn Indiana around. 

When questioned about their differences, Thompson said the two represent the diversity of the Democratic party.   In addition, when asked if he could point to any economic development projects he was specifically responsible for, Oxley told the media that as majority whip in the House his fingerprints are on any legislation that created jobs in Indiana.   The two also said that education was also an economic development tool.

Thompson told us that she could not remember the number of people she spoke to about being her Lt. Governor, but Oxley was the only one she offered the job to.

As I’ve said before, Thompson-Oxley is an interesting combination, but I do wonder how JLT will be able to effectively attack any legislation signed by the Governor over the past two years if her running mate’s “fingerprints” are on it.

You would think that as different Marion County Republicans and Democrats are, they face a lot of the same internal issues these days.  It’s like two families that aren’t crazy about each other, but their own in-fighting keeps them from effectively going after the other party.

For example, Marion County Republicans are still dealing with divisions from the State Convention.  and the race for Attorney General.  hear some Republicans want to run a challenger against Chairman Tom John in 2009.  If the GOP is smart, they will all go into a back room and work out whatever issues they need to and get over themselves. John has reached out to some of the disaffected party members, but there is still a lot more healing to do.  It also can’t help the party that Perry Township Constable Roy Houchins was indicted on corruption charges.  2007 was a unique election unto itself and future local elections may not be so kind the GOP.

Things don’t look all that great on the Democratic side, either.  I told you about the botched coup to replace Joanne Sanders as minority leader.  And now the quest to take back the Mayor’s office may add new divisions.  I already mentioned Melina Kennedy is laying ground work for the job, the other two contenders are former Deputy Mayor and current Marion County Democratic Chairman Mike O’Connor and Woody Myers.   O’Connor, while bright, would still be tied to the former administration and Dr. Myers may have a residency issue to deal with.  To be Mayor you have to have residency for five years.   What is also hurting the Democrats is that they have no real leader or unifying force for now. Right now the only thing holding them together is their dislike of the Mayor and the Republican controlled council.  They’re going to need more than that.

That didn’t take long.  Those tax protestors are making a comeback.  Outraged by reconciliation bills, they are planning a 4th of July protest in front of the Governor’s residence on Meridian.  The rally is being led by Andy Horning, Libertarian candidate for Governor. 

In an e-mail to supporters Horning writes “…this time, we’re not going to be distracted by the tax policy sub-issue. We’ll no longer nibble at the branches of the problem of lawbreaking lawmakers. We’re not going to fuss over symptoms - we aim to cure the disease of ungoverned government!”

Do you hear the people sing?  This is going to be fun to watch.

If  you thought the floods and rains that hit south central Indiana were bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Marion County lawmakers got a briefing tonight on the property reconciliation bills that are going out this week and when it’s all said and done homeowners will wish their property was under 10 feet of water.

According to one lawmaker, “this is not going to be pretty.”

The briefing was conducted by Marion County Treasurer Mike Rodman.  Residents will see very little, if any relief in most cases.

The lawmaker, who asked not to be identified said, “the people who were the most vocal last summer will be the ones who see the least amount of relief.”

And to add insult to injury, only one-third of  Marion County residents pay their property taxes through escrow, the rest just pay their bills as they get them in the mail.

To date 200,000 reconciliation bills have gone out.  The rest will go out later in the week.

One section of Marion County that saw 90 percent increases in their bills will now see 70 percent.

It also appears the two largest culprits for the tax increases are schools and the failure of local lawmakers to phase in a replacement of the inventory tax.

And just to add insult to injury,  I’m told the township assessors did not fully comply with the Department of Local Government and Finance Rules so the property tax bills which are slated to come out in October and December will also be estimates so there will be another reconciliation bill waiting for you next year.

More details are yet to come, but from I understand this going to get real ugly real quick.