Contact: Christy Setzer 202-506-6421
[email protected]
US Special Counsel Informed of Misconduct by GOP Candidate
7,410 New Voter Applications Since Partisan Harassment Began
45,398 Hoosiers Could Be Denied Constitutional Right to Vote
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (Monday, October 3, 2016) – An official complaint has been
filed with the U. S. Office of Special Counsel in Washington, DC, regarding partisan
misconduct and political harassment of Indiana voters and voter-registration efforts by
William Stoney Vann, the Republican candidate, Indiana State Trooper, and Facebook
friend of GOP Secretary of State Connie Lawson.
Mr. Vann has harassed numerous Hoosiers, including voters and registration
canvassers, over the past several months, at the same time that he is an active
Republican candidate for office and has made numerous campaign appearances in
Johnson County, as shown from photographs that he has posted onto his Facebook
account (https://www.facebook.com/williamstoney.vann).
In a letter delivered last week to the Hatch Act Unit of the U. S. Office of Special
Counsel, the President of Patriot Majority, Craig Varoga, wrote:
“I am writing to lodge a complaint against William Stoney Vann, an Indiana State
Trooper, in connection with influence that Mr. Vann is asserting in an attempt to
prevent certain Indiana voters from registering to vote. Specifically, I am deeply
concerned that Mr. Vann is violating the federal Hatch Act by using his
authority as an Indiana State Trooper to influence his own election to the
office of sheriff of Johnson County, Indiana by deliberately obstructing Indiana
Voter Registration Project’s (‘IVRP’) voter registration efforts.”
Last week, a different complaint was filed with election officials in Indiana because this
same Republican candidate appears to be in violation of Indiana campaign-finance
laws. Mr. Vann is actively campaigning for the office of Johnson County Sheriff, yet
never filed official paperwork. Failure to file the statement of organization (or any report
required under I.C. § 3-9) is a class B misdemeanor. See I.C. §3-14-1-14. In Indiana, a
class B misdemeanor can result in a prison sentence of up to 180 days, and/or a fine
of up to $1,000. I.C.§ 35-50-3-3.
Yesterday, the nonpartisan Indiana Voter Registration Project (IVRP) deployed 62 shifts
and collected 389 registrations from Hoosiers who want to vote in this year’s elections.
The Project has collected approximately 7,410 in the 19 days since Republican
Secretary of State Connie Lawson publicly announced her partisan and defamatory
attack on this registration program. 45,398 Hoosiers have completed registration
applications since the Project began, despite partisan harassment, waste of tax
dollars and abuse of government offices by GOP Secretary of State and GOP candidate
and State Trooper William Stoney Vann.
"Stoney Vann, as a state trooper and Republican candidate, is literally using his badge
and gun to go door-to-door, going to the homes of primarily African-Americans and
trying to intimidate them from engaging in the political process," said Varoga.
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE WILLIAM STONEY VANN IS AT CENTER OF VOTER
HARASSMENT IN INDIANA. FOR VIOLATING INDIANA LAWS, VANN COULD FACE UP TO
180 DAYS IN PRISON AND/OR A FINE UP TO $1,000.
US SPECIAL COUNSEL ALSO INFORMED OF POSSIBLE HATCH-ACT VIOLATIONS BY
INDIANA STATE TROOPER VANN, WHO IS USING HIS LAW-ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY
TO INFLUENCE HIS OWN ELECTION.
In 2014, Indiana had the lowest voter turnout of any state in the country.
The Indiana Voter Registration Project is a nonpartisan project conducted by Patriot
Majority USA, a 501(c)(4) , that has conducted 11 other nonpartisan registration
programs across the United States since 2012. In no other state has law enforcement
been used to conduct partisan activities against its own citizens.
###
ATTACHMENT: Letter to Hatch Act Unit, U. S. Office of Special Counsel, September
28, 2016