At the link.  Mike Marshall, the man in charge of soliciting absentee ballots in the re-election campaign of Jeffersonville Mayor Tom Galligan, resigned Friday after being indicted on vote fraud, perjury and forgery charges.

A Jennings County Grand Jury issued 66 indictments on Marshall, his son Christopher Marshall and a third Jennings resident, John Cook on Friday. The charges follow an investigation by the Indiana State Police, according to a press release from special prosecutor Aaron Negangard. The investigation stemmed from voter fraud issues regarding absentee ballots and applications submitted in Jennings County in 2010

The Democrat response:  Pate (Democratic Party Chairman) said he believed the indictment was political in nature.  “People make accusations all the time,” he said. “It’s like farting in an elevator and blaming it on the guy next to you,” he said.

the story gives a synopsis of what happened….

WHAT HAPPENED

McCauley questioned why there were so many counts listed on the indictment considering early media reports that the allegations came from only one absentee ballot last year.  Negangard said that one ballot brought the activity to light but multiple discrepancies were brought forth after police investigated.

Republicans in Jennings County challenged several absentee ballots that were submitted in 2010, according to Negangard. Democrats subsequently ran an advertisement in the North Vernon Plain Dealer accusing the Republicans of trying to deny those absentee voters their constitutional rights. One of those voters identified in the ad was a Marine named Ben Cook, who later signed a sworn affidavit stating he’d never cast a ballot. That initiated the larger investigation.  Negangard said none of Marshall’s charges were related to the Ben Cook matter, but actually to later findings.

Marshall faces 12 counts of forgery, a class C felony that could carry a maximum of eight years in prison; 20 counts of voter fraud and 13 counts of perjury – both of which are class D felonies, punishable by up to three years in prison each. Negangard said arrest warrants would be issued Monday if they haven’t already. Once those indicted are arrested, an initial hearing date will be set and the case would move through the legal system like any other.