The Democratic presidential primary petitions that put then-candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the 2008 primary ballot in Indiana are the focus of a criminal investigation.There are allegations that numerous signatures and names on the petitions were forged, so many in fact, that questions have been raised as to whether now-President Obama even qualified with enough legal signatures to get on the primary ballot in the first place.
We spent almost a week in Indiana, talking to and interviewing a variety of people about the petition scandal. We interviewed Democrats and Republicans, and talked to elections officials about the petitioning process and ways in which possible fraud can be prevented during the 2012 Presidential race.
Perhaps the most meaningful conversations though were with the voters who told us that their names and signatures were faked and that they never signed the petitions.
Charity Rorie, a mother of four, sat at her kitchen table with the petitions and told us that her name and signature, and those of her husband, were forgeries. She told us how disturbing it was to see the evidence on the Obama petition. She said that not only did she never sign the petition, but was alarmed that their personal information, such as birthdays and address, were listed.
Robert Hunter, Jr. said the handwriting was similar to his, but he spotted the fake. He always signs his name with the “Jr.,” he said. He also laughed when I asked him his reaction to seeing his forged name on an Obama petition. He said that while he is an Obama supporter now, his wife would have “drawn and quartered” him if he had actually signed an Obama petition, because they supported Clinton in the primary!
St. Joseph County Prosecutor Mike Dvorak is now investigating the allegations, and reports say that as many as seven people may have been involved in an alleged conspiracy to forge the petitions.
We all want our nation’s electoral system to be run in a manner with integrity, honesty, and impartiality. The Fox News Voter Fraud Unit will continue to investigate when those principles of our democracy come under question.
By: Eric Shawn
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