Candidate Charlie White faces new allegation of campaign violation Omission of who paid for the ad was accidental, Republican camp says For the second time, the Republican candidate to become the state's chief elections officer is fighting criticism that he violated state election laws. And for the second time, Charlie White is insisting he didn't commit a crime but was the victim of an innocent mistake. The latest dispute centers on direct mail sent by White's campaign that didn't include the required disclosure of who paid for the mailing. White is running against Democrat Vop Osili and Libertarian Mike Wherry in Tuesday's election. Keith Clock, chairman of the Hamilton County Democrats, said he sent a complaint to the Hamilton County prosecutor's office Thursday after he received one of the mailings. Intentionally leaving that information out of an ad can be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year of incarceration and a maximum $5,000 fine, according to state law. Andrew Greider, spokesman for White's campaign, said the omission wasn't intentional. He said the campaign paid for the mailer, which was sent to voters earlier this month but didn't include the required information because of an editing error. "This was a simple mistake that was made during the editing process, and was clearly unintentional as all our other print literature has the disclaimer," Greider said in an e-mail. "Any attempt to turn this innocent mistake into a political issue is a gross overreaction." About a month ago, Democrats accused White of committing voter fraud. White admitted to using his ex-wife's Fishers-area address rather than his own when he voted in the May primary. He also acknowledged that he failed to tell election officials at the polling place that he had moved. Under Indiana law, it's a Class D felony -- punishable by up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine -- for a person to knowingly vote in a precinct except the one in which he or she lives and is registered. The law includes provisions that allow people to vote under such circumstances, but only if they correct the voter registration record at the polling place and make an affirmation, which must be put in writing by the voter or polling place clerk, of their new address. White maintained he didn't do anything illegal, saying he simply had been too busy to notice that he needed to change his voting address. "There's no conspiracy here," he said at the time. "I didn't sit around and think about this." At the time, Democrats said White might have had another reason for not disclosing his change of address. Doing so would have called attention to his having moved out of the district he represented on the Fishers Town Council. White, who is also Hamilton County Republican chairman, resigned from the council in September. Two special prosecutors -- a Republican and a Democrat -- are looking into the voter fraud allegation, but they likely won't be finished before the election. If White wins the election and is later convicted of felony voter fraud, he would have to step down. Clock said that as an experienced politician, White should have known better, adding that the Democrats' latest accusation is a legitimate concern and not just another chance to attack White days before the election. "I don't think it's a political stunt; it's just a matter of following the law," Clock said. ". . . I'm just bringing up the fact that this mailer was sent out illegally, and no one knows whether Charlie paid for it or whether he approved it." The office of Indiana's secretary of state has a variety of duties, including oversight of the state's elections. Among other duties, the office determines which party names poll inspectors and holds the deciding vote in recounts. Follow Star reporter Carrie Ritchie on Twitter at twitter.com/CarrieRitchie. Call her at (317) 444-6041.