GOP head: Ballots will be ‘investigated’

Clark County

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Mike Marshall
Phil McCauley
Tom Galligan
Rob Waiz

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October 27, 2011

Press conference set for today to comment on indictment

By DAVID A. MANN David.Mann@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Thu Oct 27, 2011, 04:09 AM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — Galligan’s campaign manager notes that no charges were filed locally in 2007

Local GOP leaders say they plan to follow absentee ballot trends closely during the next two weeks, following the indictment of Democratic Party consultant Mike Marshall on voter fraud charges Friday.

The indictments — which included felony charges of voter fraud, forgery and perjury — were handed down by a grand jury in Jennings County. Marshall had been working on at least a few Democratic campaigns in Clark County, including the re-election campaign of Mayor Tom Galligan. He has since resigned.

“I think the Galligan campaign has had a history of manipulating absentee ballots,” said Clark County Republican Party Chairman Jamey Noel, referencing an investigation by a special prosecutor following the 2007 primary election.

“Here we are four years later, same song different dance,” he added.

Last week’s indictment stemmed from an investigation by the Indiana State Police. Galligan, along with campaign chairman Phil McCauley, denied any knowledge that Marshall was under investigation.

The investigation four years ago resulted in no charges, McCauley pointed out.

“I did not lose one minute of sleep over that,” he said. “We had a lot of volunteers. I never thought anyone did anything wrong and that’s what the investigation found.”

Noel said it’s an issue that transcends party lines, noting that the post-2007 primary investigation was initiated by Democratic former mayor Rob Waiz, who Galligan defeated then by more than 250 votes.

Following the 2007 primary, Waiz hired a former ISP officer as a private investigator to look into claims of irregularities with absentee ballots. Some of those voters told the investigator that campaign workers told them how to vote. In other instances, there were claims that people outside of the county were allowed to fill out ballots.

“I’m bothered by a few things,” Simpson said in an interview with The Evening News in late 2008.

Simpson said that there were claims of irregularities — however, no one could specifically name the person committing the alleged wrongdoing. There were also differences between what the voters told the investigator and what they said under oath, Simpson said.

Waiz is scheduled to speak at a press conference alongside State Republican Party Chairman Eric Holcomb at the Clark County Government Building today.

Marshall was paid about $52,000 by the Galligan campaign to solicit eligible voters to vote by absentee ballot. He also made phone calls on the mayor’s behalf. Following Friday’s indictment, he was booked into the Jennings County jail Monday. He’s been released since, paying the $2,605 bond.

“I’ve got some serious concerns,” Noel said. “We’re going to investigate each ballot one-by-one.”

CLARKSVILLE’S CONNECTION

County records show that Marshall was also paid $15,000 by a political action committee, or PAC, called the Clarksville Democrat Town Committee. According to a campaign finance report, the money was used for advertising.

It’s difficult to pin down exactly which town council candidates Marshall was working for in Clarksville. The town does not have a mayor.

Democrat Bob Liter said he was asked about it but did not give any money to the PAC to help pay for Marshall’s services. Democrat John Gilkey said his campaign operates an all-volunteer staff. He said he played no role in Marshall’s hiring and receives no financial support from the PAC.

Democrat Bob Polston said his understanding was that Marshall was working for all the Democrats, but wasn’t involved in him being hired and didn’t contribute to his payments.

“If he’s done something illegal, I’ll be the first to say ‘prosecute him,’” Polston said.

Democrats Paul Kraft and Don Tetley did not return a call for comment on the subject. Democrat David Fisher was reached for comment, but hung up on a reporter before he could be asked about it.

MARSHALL’S INDICTMENTS

According to the North Vernon Plain-Dealer Sun, which is located in Jennings County, Marshall was indicted on 12 forgery charges wherein he allegedly applied for an absentee ballot in the primary and general elections and signed the absentee ballot in the primary and general elections for three individuals — Bernard Marshall, his son; Robert Marshall, his brother; and J. Kevin Phelps.

According to the paper, 12 of the 13 perjury charges are linked to those forgery charges, as Marshall allegedly signed the ballots “knowing the statement to be false or not believing it to be true.”

The last charge alleges he made a false statement to the grand jury, the Plain-Dealer Sun reported.

The 20 charges of voter fraud relate to primary and general election applications for ballots and the actual voting of the three individuals in the forgery charges as well as one other, John Cook.

Additionally, two counts had to do with the voting of Christopher Marshall — Mike Marshall’s son — in the primary and November election, according to the report. Christopher Marshall and John Cook were also indicted Friday. All totaled, there were 66 indictments.

Mike Marshall did not return a call for comment Wednesday evening and did not return a call for a previous report last week.