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 to the name in the book) 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.

Here are the three big things that happened at tonight’s City-County Council Meeting.

The Council approved a measure putting the issue of keeping the township assessors on the November ballot.

It also voted down a procedural motion which would have allowed you to pay your property tax reconcilliation bill in installments. Democrats say the law already allows for it, but Republicans say it doesn’t cover everyone and needed Council approval to do it.

The Council also allowed Vernon Brown (for the fourth or fifth time) to bring up his proposal to eliminate the County Option Income Tax Increase on the public safety pension. The measure got sent back to committee again.

And Doris Minton-McNeill didn’t say much tonight except “no comment” and she publicly acknowledged her pastor and her political supporters.

That’s all folks.

Marion County Democratic Party Chairman Mike O’Connor has issued a statement regarding the arrest of CCC member Doris Minton-McNeill. It reads as follows.

“As this situation moves forward and we learn the facts, it is important that the process be allowed to work without any outside interference or partisan distractions. Councillor Minton-McNeill deserves the same consideration as anyone facing a similar situation.”

This is a friendly reminder on obeying the law from 21st Century philosopher Chris Rock. If more politicians would follow these rules everybody’s life would be easier…

My counterpart Jennifer Wagner has posted a few simple rules that people in politics should follow that can save 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 are 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 as 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 be 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.

Indianapolis City-County Councilor Doris Minton-McNeil was arrested tonight at her home for allegedly shoving a police officer while intoxicated. According to IMPD sources, police were called to McNeil’s residence in the 2000 block of Medford Avenue at about 6 this evening.

Sources say McNeil appeared to have been drinking and was intoxicated when she was approached by a female police officer who tried to get McNeil to go back into her home.

McNeil allegedly resisted and was placed under arrest. That was when McNeil reportedly told the officer, “do you know who I am?” She also reportedly accused the officers of taking her to jail, “because she was black.”

Sources say McNeil faces charges of resisting arrest and felony battery on a police officer.

McNeil serves in City-County Council District 15. She was appointed this past Spring to fill the vacancy left by Andre Carson when he was elected to Congress.

Marion County GOP Chairman Tom John called for McNeil to resign.

I’m in Chicago this morning introducing the girlfriend to the family, which by the way is going very well.  She and my mother love each other and having a great time.  That could of course be bad for me in the long run, but I’ll risk it.

In the meantime, my producer Chris Spangle, attended yesterday’s Indiana Democratic Convention.  I’ve reposted his analysis here.

1 PM Update:

Ran into Dr. Woody Meyers. He is a delegate. His only future Political plans were to come into the convention and vote as a delegate.

Spoke to Congressman Joe Donelly. He had no public comment on Tony Zirkle… Hear that interview Monday.

We are in the Marriott. The room here is much smaller then the large hall the GOP had for their convention. Lunchtime is nearing an end, and folks are streaming into the hall. The crowd is a lot smaller then I figured it would be. It is also much youger then the GOP. Average age of attendee is 45. The GOP convention: 60. There are many more young people here then at the GOP convention.

I am sitting next to Amos. He wants to know who in the world would marry Abdul?! lol

About 1,000 delegates are here for the convention. I believe that is on par with the GOP, altough it does not look it.

1:30 PM

I thought Democrats had all this enthusiasm and energy. This is like sitting at a boring lecture. Maybe it will hit when Jill speaks around 3.

Andre Carson spoke. We won’t have that due to a mult-box issue. I promise that this time, it was not my fault, lol.

The organization here is weak. Twice in 15 minutes, people were called to speak, and they never showed up. People, pay attention!

The Democrats have officially nominated Richard Wood for Superintendent for Public Instruction. His slogan is “Experience, Dedication, and Results.” He is proud to be a party that looks to the future with vision and courage. At the end, the entire 8th district did not stand for Wood. There was a standing applause in the middle of the room (Districts 9, 2, 3, and 1.) The other districts (7, 4, 6 and 8 ) did not stand. Laziness or is there a meaning to this?

Wood had a power point slide show. Linda Pence has a video detailing how smart she is, and her accomplishments. It started with her fighting Shell Oil on behalf of a small town gas station owner. I think it’s clear they think they can win that race, and will pump a lot of money into it. Maybe they think the GOP will neglect Zoeller because he is not the “chosen” candidate.

More disorganization. Instead of bringing Pence right up after the video, and carrying on momentum, they went to a Louis Armstrong song, and then the chairman cam up and talked about how great life is. Then he finally announced Pam Carter, after a long speech on how long he’s know Pam Carter. Pam Carter was the first African-American and Female to be elected Attorney General.

Pam Carter forgot to nominate Carter, but the Chairman of the convention (Sherrif Dominguez from Lake County) quickly stepped up and officially nominated her.

Pence walked out to the theme of Law and Order. Andre Carson walked out to Stronger by Kanye.

2 PM Update

No mentions of Mitch, Bush or Cheney yet. You’d think in an hour, there would be more GOP hate-mongering.

About 1/4 of the room did not stand and cheer for Pence. Three-Quarters did not stand and cheer for Bauer. Where is the energy, people?

Bauer is the first person to hit Mitch Daniels. “Four years ago, a dark cloud came over Indiana. THEY SOLD OUR TOLL ROAD! I like Australians. I love Kangaroo Dundee. I just don’t want them to have our money.”

Bauer says Mitch raised property taxes a Billion Dollars. Bauer was apparently there to nominate Oxley. That was not expressed. Oxley had 3/4 of the room stand and cheer for him. He came out to Mellencamp’s Small Town.

Oxley thanked Bauer, and called him a “close confident.” I wonder how he spells “potato?” He also says Hoosier incorrectly. He says, “Whooysher.”

Oxley hit Mitch. He might be the heavy in the campaign. He went on with a list of Mitch Daniels unaccomplishments. One that stood out was that many Whooyshers die because Mitch Daniels doesn’t care about them, and does not give them health insurance. He made fun of the island in a sea of despair commercial by saying Mitch is on “Fantasy Island.” While speaking, someone in the crowd yelled out, “Privative Mitch!” That got a healthy laugh.

2:40 PM Update.

Convention on time, to the surprise of the IDNC staff.)
JLT video is running. BATHROOM BREAK! Birch Bayh received the biggest applause pop, until Evan came on-screen. No sighting of Evan Bayh, Brad Ellsworth, Bart Peterson, Andy Jacobs, Frank Anderson or Baron Hill yet. They may be here, but will not speak and I have not seen them.

JLT is right in front of me, waiting to walk up the center aisle. She is taking a lof of deep breaths, and looks nervous. I don’t blame her. The crowds are more energetic with the sight of JLT, but the level is not the same as it was for Mitch. It is not as intense as the Obama crowd at Plainfield, or the crowd at Ben Davis for Hillary.

JLT is clearly standing on a box. (Mitch, while JLT’s same height, did not.)

None of the speakers, with the exception of Bauer, is particularly energetic. The crowds politely clap. The speeches are clearly memorized and rehearsed.

There are almost no mentions of Obama, Bush or McCain. This is clearly a convention focused on Change in the Governor’s Mansion. JLT only mentioned Mitch once in her speech, with a few slight digs. Her speech was focused on her strengths. The words “fighter” and “change” were mentioned a million times.

Biggest applause was that JLT will reinstate collective barganing for unions. Click this link: http://www.howeypolitics.com/2008/06/21/democratic-convention-uaw-wont-endorse-jlt/

She says she will get our economy moving again. ? She will give tax breaks to companys WITH health insurance benefits. No more free rides under JLT when it comes to business. Indiana will also become a national leader in the Green economy. She will also “stop the Daniels obsession with privatization.” She also told the crowd how much she loves them. The entire crowd went, “Awww.” I felt like I was at Sex in the City!”

This speech, which can be heard on A.I.M. on Monday or podcast, is one of the most uninspired speeches I have ever heard. I am so bored. She could not be more droll or monotone. She has no central message. It is just the standard platform that Democrats ALWAYS bring forward. There is talk of change and progress, but then she offers up the same ideas that O’Bannon and Kernan brought forward! How do the 1,000 delegates here not see that? She even walked off stage to Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down!”

As soon as she was done speaking, people headed for the door. Many didn’t stay for the balloon drop.

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.

There is a new poll out on the Governor’s race. It was conducted by the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne in partnership with SurveyUSA. The poll asked four questions of more than 400 respondents, was conducted June 10-12 and got four different results. Each question, depending on what was asked, showed the Governor race tied or Daniels winning.

To keep the confusion down to a bare minimum, I’ve included the question, the number of people surveyed and the results. You make your own call.

1. If the election for governor were today and you were standing in the voting booth right now, who would you vote for, Republican Mitch Daniels or Democrat Jill Long Thompson?,”

Daniels – 49%, JLT – 49%. 452 Respondents.

2. “Now I’m going to read the names of the candidates for Indiana Governor. On a scale of 1 to 10 … where 10 means you would vote for CANDIDATE NAME for governor no matter who else was on the ballot … and 1 means you would vote against CANDIDATE NAME for Governor no matter who else was on the ballot … and 5 means you are completely neutral on this race, how likely are you to vote for CANDIDATE NAME?”

Daniels – 5.5, JLT – 4.9. 438 Respondents.

3. “If the election for Indiana Governor were today, and you were standing in the voting booth right now, how likely would you be to vote for CANDIDATE, very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not at all likely?

Daniels – 57% likely and somewhat likely, JLT – 43% likely and somewhat likely. 434 Respondents.

4. “If there was an election for Indiana Governor today, which statement would best describe you? One: I would vote for CANDIDATE NAME no matter who else is on the ballot. Two: I would vote against CANDIDATE NAME no matter who else is on the ballot. Three: I might or might not vote for CANDIDATE NAME, depending on who else is on the ballot.”

Daniels – 31% would vote for him regardless, 29% would not vote for him regardless, 40% could go either way.

JLT – 18% would vote for her regardless, 31% would not vote for her, 52% could go either way. 448 Respondents.

After weeding through all that, the poll reached four conclusions…

“Mitch Daniels is leading Jill Long Thompson, but not by much. Daniels’ base is more solidly behind him than Thompson’s is behind her. A large percentage of independents could be swayed to vote for either candidate. Both candidates have regional advantages and the candidate who is able to improve performance in the southern region may be the candidate who wins. ”

Draw your own conclusions.

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.