07262003 - News Article - Voters claim they didn't vote - Attorneys question 30 in Schererville judge primary - ROBERT CANTRELL

Voters claim they didn't vote
Attorneys question 30 in Schererville judge primary
NWI Times
Jul 26, 2003
nwitimes.com/news/local/voters-claim-they-didn-t-vote/article_df747fe7-eed3-5cf9-8e30-9e60dcc6efbb.html
The man accused of strong-arming votes in the Schererville town judge primary refused to answer questions during a deposition Thursday night, instead invoking his constitutional right not to incriminate himself.

In addition, as many as eight voters said they either had no knowledge of their absentee ballots existing or signed an application but never saw the ballots.

Town judge contender Kenneth Anderson and his attorneys questioned Thursday more than 30 absentee voters and people they believe are related to illegal votes cast in May's tight Democratic primary. Anderson lost the election by 11 votes to incumbent Deborah Riga, who filed new motions Thursday to dismiss Anderson's court challenge to the election.

Anderson contends Bob "Bosko" Grkinich was behind three absentee ballots that were voted in the names of people who live in Illinois. On Thursday, Grkinich invoked his Fifth Amendment rights to refuse to answer questions about a crime or be a witness against himself, Anderson's attorney John Greg said.

The three people who Grkinich allegedly voted for have lived in Illinois for two years. They told Anderson's attorneys during their deposition that they had no knowledge about the absentee ballots.

Those ballots where sent to Grkinich's mother's house.

"We are finding many, many more things," Greg said. "The large shock is the people who said they had no knowledge of anything."

He said at least two other voters said they knew nothing about absentee ballots that were voted in their name. Greg also said about three other people said they signed an application for a mail-in ballot but never saw or filled out a ballot.

The questioned voters came from the Novo Selo area precinct on the east side of town, where Anderson only received one of 24 mail-in votes. He is hoping to convince Lake Superior Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura that corruption was so rampant in the precinct that she should order a new election. No Republican has filed for judge for November's general election.

Riga's new motions have prompted Bonaventura to order a new hearing for Wednesday, Anderson said. The motions ask Bonaventura to stop Anderson's investigation and dismiss the case because they believe the Indiana Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the matter and not her.

Earlier this week, her attorney drove to Indianapolis to ask the state Supreme Court to stop Thursday's depositions, claiming the Bonaventura was did not have jurisdiction over the case. The plea was rejected.