Lake County Vote Fraud Sting Grows to Seventeen
Attorney General Steve Carter has published the following press release:
Six more individuals have been charged on 19 counts of illegal activity in the 2003 East Chicago primary election announced members of the Joint Voter Fraud Task Force led by Lake County Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter and Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter. One of the individuals charged today is East Chicago City Councilman Levones Tolbert, who was a precinct committeeman during the ’03 primary election.
“I can’t emphasize enough the seriousness of tampering with any part of the election process,” Attorney General Carter said. “Voting is a fundamental right of citizens that must be preserved and an honest election process must be returned to East Chicago.”
The task force announced 41 criminal charges against seven people in July. Prosecutor Carter says the investigation does not stop here.
“The effectiveness of the Lake County Vote Fraud Task Force is a result of the continuing cooperation of the Office of the Lake County Prosecutor, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General and the Indiana State Police,” Lake County Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter added. “Voting in a precinct other than your own is a crime and in a close race it can negatively affect the outcome and the right of all candidates and voters to a fair electoral process.”
The six individuals charged today for illegal activity in the 2003 East Chicago primary election are Arthur Vera, Armando Vera, Elvia Vera, Pedro Moro, Yolanda Ramirez, and Levones Tolbert. The 19 counts filed against them include fraudulently receiving voted ballots, voting in a precinct other than where the person lived, and perjury for lying about where he/she lived on absentee applications.
The Indiana State Police is leading the investigation and filed arrest warrants earlier this week.
“Voter fraud strikes at the core of our democracy,” Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell stated. “The Indiana State Police will vigorously investigate allegations of voter fraud.”
