Governor Pence, ISP respond to voter suppression allegations

By: Melissa Hudson

Posted: Oct 15, 2016 6:28 PM EST

Patriot Majority USA is accusing Indiana Governor Mike Pence of allowing voter suppression, according to an article by the Washington Post. The allegations are made in a radio ad produced by the organization in response to the Indiana State Police investigation into alleged fraudulent voter registration applications submitted by the Indiana Voter Registration Project.

According to the ad, produced by Patriot Majority USA, “Indiana State Police recently shut down our state’s largest voter registration program. This police raid was under the leadership of Republican Governor Mike Pence. Now 45,000 citizens, almost all African Americans, could lose the right to vote.”

The Indiana State Police said the investigation is into possibly fraudulent applications that involve a combination of made up names and made up addresses, real names with made up or incorrect addresses and false dates of births with real names as well as combinations of all these examples.

The ISP issued the following statement in response to the allegations:

Every allegation by Patriot Majority USA against the Indiana State Police is completely false. In fact, it is clear from evidence documented to date that we have uncovered intentional acts of fraud by representatives of Patriot Majority USA,” said Captain David Bursten, Chief Public Information Office for the Indiana State Police. “The Indiana State Police is charged with enforcing the laws of the state of Indiana and we are determined to protect the integrity of the election and every citizen’s right to vote.

Governor Pence spokesman Matt Lloyd issued the following statement regarding allegations made by Patriot Majority USA against the Indiana State Police and Governor Pence

These allegations are completely false and beyond absurd. In fact, the Indiana State Police has uncovered strong evidence of voter fraud by Patriot Majority USA. Among Governor Pence’s top priorities is ensuring the integrity of the election and that every single Hoosier vote counts. He has full confidence in the Indiana State Police investigation to achieve this goal.

Patriot Majority USA made additional allegations in a press release after the raid on their Indianapolis office on October 6.