An Indiana State Police investigation into potential petition fraud by a volunteer for Democrat presidential candidate Dean Phillips’ campaign continues in St. Joseph County, where the local Democratic Party leader was convicted a decade ago on a petition forgery scheme.
St. Joseph County Clerk Amy Rolfes told The Federalist that she and her staff late last month discovered hundreds of what appeared to be fraudulent petition signatures and addresses. Rolfes alerted state elections officials and the State Patrol, which last week launched an investigation.
“They are making progress,” Rolfes said. “I know it’s not sitting. They’re taking it very seriously.”
Indiana State Police Sgt. Ted Bohner told The Federalist on Wednesday that he could not comment on an ongoing investigation, but said the review “is probably going to be lengthy.”
Rolfes said she knows the identity of the campaign volunteer but cannot release details at this time.
The clerk said the Phillips campaign volunteer showed up at the end of the business day on Jan. 25 with about 80 petition documents to help get Phillips on Indiana’s presidential ballot. The Minnesota congressman is running an improbable campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination against incumbent President Joe Biden. Indiana’s primary is scheduled for May 7.
Rolfes said many of the petition papers were lacking information, and that the campaign volunteer was advised to complete the forms and return. She was back at 11 a.m. the following day with 53 pages, all completed, Rolfes said. But the clerk and her staff
