ST. JOSEPH COUNTY – Clay Edinger, a St. Joseph County voter, brought his gun with him to a polling place. He said officials there told him to leave.
Edinger's attorney, Guy Relford, wants a special prosecutor appointed to look into the incident.
Indiana Revised Code spells out how guns, ammunition and other firearms are regulated – the law is pretty much black and white. It describes what's allowed and what isn't, but during Tuesday's Primary a grey area was found, and it's something no one wants to talk about.
WSBT News looked at the petition filed on behalf of Edinger. In it: "individuals" employed by the St. Joseph County Police, the County Election Board, the Warren Township Fire Department, the County Clerk's Office are all named as potentially violating Edinger's right to vote – that's a felony.
Here's what we know: Edinger is licensed to carry a gun and he brought it with him to vote Tuesday at Warren Township Fire Department.
In the petition, Edinger's attorney argues he wasn't allowed to vote as long as he had the gun on his person.
The petition describes when a St. Joseph County police sergeant reportedly told Edinger the county election board's attorney told him 'he couldn't carry his gun inside.'
The petition also describes what happened when Edinger returned and tried to vote a second time.
He reportedly said: "I'd like to vote tonight. Will you let me do that?
Edinger said the Poll Inspector said: "I cannot let you come in. I had the election board call me. I cannot let you come in."
In his petition, Relford wrote, it's reasonable to speculate that poll workers, the election board or police contacted the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office for clarity.
He's not sure if it happened, but if it did, Relford believes the office’s involvement in an investigation would be a conflict of interest.
