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Is Evan Bayh An Inactive Voter?

Posted on
August 31, 2016
by Agree Staff
One of the most basic rules of politics is: don't forget to vote. A less known corollary to that rule is: don't forget to consistently maintain your active voter status.

Evan Bayh forgot that, and now the Republican Party is making him pay for it.

Bayh is trying to reclaim the Indiana Senate seat he abandoned six years ago. But CNN has dogged him with reports suggesting he hasn't maintained strong ties to his state since he left the Senate. One said Bayh listed his primary residence in Washington, DC and another said he was twice listed as an "inactive voter" on the state's voting rolls.

NRSC Hits Evan Bayh For "DC Deception"

The National Republican Senatorial Committee ad "New" begins with Bayh saying "I'm an active voter in Indiana" followed by a stern narrator responding, "DC deception for Evan Bayh. Evan Bayh is listed as an inactive voter. Bayh lists his Washington DC home as his primary address."

The narrator then moves to tie Bayh to Hillary Clinton, who is not terribly popular in Indiana: "And for Bayh, home is where the heart is. His DC charitable foundation helped finance the Clinton Foundation, but cut off contributions to local charities he once backed, stiffing Hoosiers who suffer to pad Clinton's slush fund." A photo of a person in a wheelchair is shown to represent who Bayh is depriving of help.

Evan Bayh Says He Always Voted

Of course, not everything is as bad as the ad suggests. Bayh was listed as "inactive," because he didn't respond to postcards sent by local election officials to his Indiana condo, not that he didn't vote. Being listed as "inactive" is a minor probationary action that is rectified once the person does shows up to vote. In the longer clip of Bayh insisting he's active, he explains, "I voted in every primary and every general election for the last 25 to 30 years. So I'm an active voter in Indiana."

The details of his foundation giving is less dramatic than depicted. His foundation is not very flush -- less than $1 million of leftover gubernatorial campaign funds. Back in 2004 and 2005, the foundation gave $55,000 to the Indiana National Guard Relief Fund which supports military families. It's true that the foundation hasn't done that since; instead it's mostly supported a financial aid fund to help low-income children participate in a Washington, DC-based summer educational program. As the fine print of the NRSC ad shows, only $4,000 went to the Clinton Foundation.

But $4,000 is not zero. Washington, DC is not Indiana. And being "inactive" for a day is more than being "active" every day. Bayh, who is no political rookie, should know that.
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