December 8, 2003
Voter Fraud Investigation

State police are investigating at least 70 instances of possible voter fraud in Madison County.
 
One Democrat precinct committeeman is under arrest and the Madison County prosecutor says more arrests are possible.

Mikael Vaughn is charged with 12 counts of voter fraud. On Monday his attorney asked a judge to appoint a special prosecutor, claiming Republican Prosecutor Rodney Cummings has a conflict of interest.

Indiana state police say Democrat precinct committeeman Mikeal Vaughn tampered with at least four absentee ballots.
 
Police say that at a nursing home, an elderly man claims Vaughn offered to help him with his ballot, but Vaughn marked down Democratic candidates when the man wanted to vote for Republicans.   
 
Prosecutor Cummings says this may be the tip of the iceberg. The Indiana State Police are investigating 700 suspicious ballots challenged by Republicans.

“So far, 70 of them have been verified, empty lots, vacant houses, people voting in the City of Anderson who don't live in the City of Anderson,” said Cummings.

Many of the voter fraud allegations were turned over to state police by Mayor-Elect Kevin Smith, an Anderson city police detective.  “I will absolutely guarantee that we will have a clean, ethical operation in city hall,” said Smith.

Madison County Democratic chairman Thomas Ashley charges the Republicans of staging a politically motivated witch-hunt against his party. “I'm sure that if anybody's charged it will be Democrats. That's my opinion,” said Ashley.

The state police investigator working on the cases will not say how many other people may be targets or when he will turn his findings over to the prosecutor.

Vaughn will have to wait to see if he will get a special prosecutor for his case. The judge took it under advisement. He faces 36 years in prison if he's found guilty of the 12 voter fraud charges.