CROWN POINT | Lake County Superior Court Judge Diane Schneider was appointed Thursday as special judge to hear the GOP's lawsuit to have three early voting centers in northern Lake County deemed illegal.
Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard signed an order to have Schneider handle the case, said Kathryn Dolan, spokeswoman for the state's high court. The other justices concurred.
No hearing date had been scheduled in Schneider's courtroom by Thursday afternoon. The judge and attorneys have scheduled a telephone conference for today, a representative from the court said Thursday.
Lake County Republican Chairman John Curley filed a lawsuit against the Lake County elections board to dispute the satellite early voting centers in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago.
Lawyers for Curley insist any voting outside of the elections board's Crown Point office is illegal under a state law requiring unanimous approval by the Republican and Democratic elections board members. The satellite centers did not receive a unanimous vote of approval.
Republicans claim the multiple voting centers invite vote fraud, but Democrats accuse the GOP of attempting to suppress the vote in northern Lake County.
"Why would you want to stop people from voting?" Lake County Democratic Chairman Rudy Clay asked. "I thought we lived in the United States of America."
The controversy has bounced among various county courts and federal court since it was filed.
Lake County Superior Court Judge Calvin Hawkins handled the case first and issued a temporary restraining order to prohibit the centers from opening. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen handled the case next, but ruled Monday he doesn't have jurisdiction in the matter.
Lake Circuit Judge Lorenzo Arredondo also chimed in on the issue, ordering the satellite voting centers to open.
Lake County elections board Director Sally LaSota said 311 people voted Wednesday in the early voting site in Crown Point, and 100 voted in the Gary courthouse. She said numbers for Hammond and East Chicago weren't available. The Crown Point early voting site is not opposed by county Republicans.
