Rokita defends voter registration investigation, speaks on other issues
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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita gave wide-ranging comments on an ongoing voter registration inquiry, a new disciplinary complaint and impending executions while receiving an endorsement from the state police association on Thursday.
Indiana State Police Alliance Executive Director Cory Martin commended the Republican attorney general, who is up for reelection in November, for “his commitment to fight lawlessness in our communities and empowering our members to do their job.”
Following brief remarks, Rokita additionally weighed in on his joint endeavor with Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales to investigate the citizenship status of more than 585,000 registered Hoosier voters. That’s equal to about 12% of Indiana’s registered voters.
No word yet on voter inquiry
An Oct. 11 letter sent by the duo to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) after Indiana’s Oct. 7 voter registration deadline — and when Election Day was about three weeks away — asks the agency to use its “Person Centric Query Service” to verify a list of names and dates of birth of voters who registered without an Indiana driver’s license number or a social security number, or who live overseas.
Rokita said Thursday that USCIS had not yet responded to the letter.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, sent a similar letter to USCIS on Oct. 7 and has since sued the Biden administration, accusing the federal government of failing to help Texas check the citizenship status of some of the state’s registered voters.
“If we don’t get a response before the election, that’s OK, too. This is a forensic tool, as well,” the attorney general said. “The point that I’m making with this is that, look, there are questions about the citizen status of these half-a-million voters, and if I don’t get it before the election, I’m going to get an answer after, and then I’m going to be able to compare that answer — who was a citizen, who wasn’t — to who voted and who didn’t, and it’s a felony.”
“My point is, before the election, it is a felony in the state of Indiana to vote if you’re not a citizen. That is felonious activity,” he continued. “And now that I’ll have the data and the forensic evidence to compare after the election, I’ll be working with our prosecutors to enforce that law.”
When asked why the letter was sent so close to Election Day, Rokita maintained that Indiana’s voter registration was open through Oct. 7.
“We sent that letter afterwards because you want to make sure that you have a complete list,” he said, adding that it “just made sense” to wait until after the deadline because “there are so many registrations going on” until that date.
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires states to finish voter roll maintenance at least 90 days ahead of federal elections. That would’ve set an Aug. 7 deadline.
Even so, Rokita said that law only prohibits “systemic voter cleaning,” while “an ad hoc removal, or something like that, can be done.”
“Let’s just assume … that we don’t get the list. This still becomes a forensic exercise,” he said. “And my simple message is, look, if you’re not a citizen, don’t vote. And, by the way, it’s also a crime if you intentionally register to vote and you’re not a citizen. These are important things. It’s not voter suppression. We want everyone’s vote to count equally. And when people cheat the system, it’s an offense and it’s an affront to all the legally-cast ballots for whatever party or whatever candidate.”
Further, a spokesperson for the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office told the Capital Chronicle Thursday that once the early, in-person voting period began Oct. 8, “the office received complaints from county election administrators and voters concerned about the apparent ease at which a non-US citizen could register to vote and vote, as well as the lack of a check on the ‘honor system’ for declaring eligibility to vote.”
On a separate topic, Rokita defended his move to enforce the state’s anti-sanctuary city statute. His office demanded a wide range of documents last week from the South Bend and Seymour police departments.
The attorney general issued identical civil investigative demands to the two agencies, saying the requested materials are needed to determine whether local immigration policies comply with state law. Specifically, Rokita said his office is investigating whether the police departments violated state law by preventing their officers from cooperating with federal officials on issues related to citizenship, immigration status, or enforcement of federal immigration law.
Rokita has sent multiple letters to city councils and local law enforcement agencies since May, threatening to sue if the agencies did not rescind their “sanctuary city” ordinances or policies.
In a Wednesday statement, Democrat attorney general candidate Destiny Wells admonished the latest move, saying Rokita is “prioritiz(ing) politics over public safety.” Her campaign maintained, too, that Rokita’s demands “distract police from critical duties in a bid to boost poll numbers.”
“Todd Rokita’s latest stunt — demanding immigration documents from the South Bend and Seymour police departments—is nothing more than a desperate, politically motivated distraction,” Wells said. “With our local police already stretched thin, working tirelessly to protect our communities, Rokita is pulling them away from their real duties to chase headlines. This has nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with salvaging his campaign in areas where he’s struggling in the polls.”
“Let me be clear: the Attorney General’s office should be about serving Hoosiers, not serving up political theater,” Wells continued. “This kind of fear-mongering and divisive rhetoric is not what Indiana needs. If I were in Rokita’s position, I’d be focused on the issues that affect real, everyday Hoosiers—not abusing the power of the office to score cheap political points.”
Rokita brushes off latest disciplinary complaint
This week, a disciplinary complaint lodged by political commentator Abdul-Hakim Shabazz alleges that the attorney general broke the law by disclosing the contents of a staff attorney’s personnel file during a recent televised debate between Rokita and Wells.
The complaint, filed with the Indiana Attorney Disciplinary Commission, points to Rokita’s comments about Wells’ resignation letter, which she submitted to the attorney general when departing the office in 2019.
Rokita and Shabazz have a long adversarial history.
Commenting Thursday, Rokita said he knew little about the complaint.
“If you listen to Abdul, you’re listening to the village idiot. … I would say I did nothing wrong. We were at a political debate, so there’s an issue of political speech there, for sure, that’s protected by our Constitution,” the attorney general said. “And also, I’m allowed to look at the files of my own office. I’m the Attorney General, and the fact of the matter is, to the extent I know what he’s squawking about, all this information is public. There’s no proof that I referenced anything inappropriately, and I broke no laws.”
At least three other disciplinary complaints have been filed against Rokita since he was elected to the office in 2020, including one that stemmed from his televised comments about Indianapolis doctor Caitlin Bernard, who oversaw a medication abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio in 2022.
An investigation into the grievance ultimately resulted in a reprimand earlier this year.
Rokita argued that the latest complaint amounts to “another example of the weaponization of our institutions here in Indiana.”
“The politics around this is sickening, and it needs to stop,” he said. “Our judiciary is being weaponized for political purposes, and this is just another example of it. I’ve been the target. Others have been the target. President Trump’s been the target. And I think the voters of the state are going to see through it. I think, eventually, if these political attacks continue to go anywhere, our Indiana Supreme Court is going to see through it.”
Possible next steps for Indiana’s death row inmates
After the Indiana Supreme Court set a Dec. 18 execution date for Joseph Corcoran last month, lawyers for the death row inmate said they’re seeking a last plea with a clemency petition.
A clemency decision for Corcoran, who killed four people in 1997, is ultimately left to Indiana’s governor.
Rokita — whose office sought the execution date for Corcoran, and most recently requested a date for another death row inmate, Benjamin Ritchie — said Thursday that he’s in “constant communication” with the Indiana Department of Correction and Gov. Eric Holcomb’s team.
Still, Rokita said he expects a clemency decision “will fall upon the next governor,” Holcomb’s pending successor. The attorney general has “not had any conversations” with any of the gubernatorial candidates about the matter.
He could not comment, however, on whether the state will soon seek execution dates for any of Indiana’s other six death row inmates, or if DOC currently has the drugs necessary to carry out additional death warrants.
“One thing that’s the hallmark of our judicial system, and certainly in my office, is that we are consistent, and we apply the law consistently,” Rokita said. “If we did it for two (inmates), I don’t see any reason why there wouldn’t be with the next six, but that’s between my clients and me, at this point.”
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.