Dick Lugar Could Lose at Least One Vote in Tight Race: His Own

Reuters
Eric Randall 345 Views Mar 15, 2012

This feels like a Catch-22: An election board in Sen. Richard Lugar's Indiana hometown ruled him ineligible to vote Thursday because he's lived in Virginia since voters sent him to Washington in 1977. (He's currently the longest-serving Republican.) Now the Senator finds he's in the odd situation of being unable to vote for himself in a tight primary election because he's been busy, you know, being a senator. His spokesman sounded predictably irate in a statement:

Today, the Democrat-controlled Marion County Election Board ignored the Indiana Constitution, the express direction given to Senator Lugar by the Marion County Voter Registration Board, and the opinions of three Indiana Attorneys General - the officials ultimately responsible for enforcing state election law - to reach a conclusion that Senator and Mrs. Lugar have incorrectly voted in their precinct since he became a U.S. Senator. 

Practically, this doesn't seem significant, since Lugar is still eligible to run for office, and rarely does an election come down to a single vote. (Though remember when the movie Election hinged on one candidate voting for his opponent?) But it is pretty odd. All hope isn't lost though. The Indianapolis Star reports that Lugar could reapply using a different permanent address, or family member's home or the Lugar family farm. Better get started with that paperwork. 

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