Indiana elected a new Secretary of State on November 2, 2010. He is Charlie White, the Republican nominee. However, White in in danger of being removed from the office, because the evidence points to a conclusion that he voted in a precinct in which he did not live. Current Indiana law says if the Election Board removes him from office, the runner-up becomes Secretary of State instead. Of course, the runner-up in November 2010 was the Democratic nominee.

But on April 18, the Republican majority in the State Senate amended HB 1242, an omnibus election law that had already passed the House and which (as introduced) makes 26 mundane technical changes to election laws. The amendment says that when the Election Commission decides that a candidate who was subject to a contest proceeding is declared not eligible, that office is then deemed vacant, and the Governor may fill the vacancy. The amendment applies to all state office except judicial office, Governor, and Lieutenant Governor. Indiana now has a Republican Governor.

The bill now must return to the House, for concurrence in the amendment. The amendment also clarifies that even if a candidate is removed, the vote cast for him or her still stands, for purposes of determining if that candidate’s political party remains qualified. Indiana defines qualified parties by whether or not they get 2% for Secretary of State in the last election. Some had speculated that the Republican Party could be deemed no longer a qualified party if its nominee for Secretary of State had been declared ineligible.