Here’s what some Indiana politicos are saying regarding the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the State’s Voter ID law.

Todd Rokita, Secretary of State

• “Hoosier commonsense prevails again. One of the key tools we have put in place to improve elections and protect the strength of our republic – our Photo ID requirement at the polls – has once again been upheld.  I’ve stood up for Hoosiers and this law ever sense we helped write it and began implementing it five years ago and through seven elections and numerous special elections. It is overwhelmingly supported by voters and taxpayers, despite a very small but vocal partisan minority. Protecting the votes of honest people from being diluted by those who have no respect for the franchise is the right thing to do. And I will continue to stand up for the rights of Hoosiers so we can continue to have fair and accurate elections.”

Greg Zoeller, Indiana Attorney General

• “My office has vigorously investigated various forms of election fraud in multiple counties and we combat daily the problem of identity theft in consumer transactions. The Voter ID statute was a reasonable step to ensure the integrity of the electoral process and prevent fraudulent voting from taking place, and so I am pleased that the Indiana Supreme Court has declared that the statute is constitutional.  Indiana’s Solicitor General, Tom Fisher, who argued successfully before the United States Supreme Court in on this very issue, deserves considerable credit for the constitutional defense of the law before Indiana’s high court,”

Charlie White, Republican Candidate for Secretary of State

• “Now that the U.S. Supreme Court and the Indiana Supreme Court have ruled, in separate lawsuits, the Voter I.D. Law is, in fact, Constitutional, it is time for the other side to put this issue to rest for good. With a poll showing 75%* of Hoosiers in favor of the requirement to have a photo ID at the ballot box, this is clearly not a Republican or Democrat issue. It is a common sense issue that validates one of my campaign’s core principles-to protect and defend Indiana’s Voter ID law. This clearly distinguishes me from my opponent.

Vop Osili, Democratic Candidate for Secretary of State

• “I respect the Courts decision and if I were privileged enough to be elected Indiana’s next Secretary of State, I am committed to upholding and applying the laws of our great state,” said Osili.  “However, there are reforms I would seek that maintain our state’s strong efforts to prevent voter fraud, while allowing more eligible voters the opportunity to vote – a fundamental right that we must protect with equal vigilance.”

Mike Wherry, Libertarian Candidate for Secretary of State

• “The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a common sense law today.  We have to show identification for any number of normal day-to-day tasks to prove who we are.  The need to show ID in order to vote should not have to be any different.  It is important for us to have integrity in our elections without disenfranchising voters.  And this law provides opportunities for all voters with ample provisions for those who may not currently have proper ID.”

Indiana Democratic Party

• “While we respect the Indiana Supreme Court, the Indiana Democratic Party disagrees with the decision rendered today.  The law’s restrictions disproportionately hit low-income, minority, disabled and elderly voters the hardest, and there is no denying this law runs against the basic principles of Democracy by diminishing voter participation.   However, we agree the responsibility now falls to the thousands of Hoosier voters unjustly disenfranchised by this highly restrictive law to step forward and challenge its constitutionality.  We believe this ruling now places the spotlight on the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue photo identification through a fair and uniform process.”

Marion County Clerk Beth White

• Today’s decision makes it incumbent on the State of Indiana to redouble its efforts to make sure that every voter who wants identification gets it with the aim that no voter is turned away for lack of identification. For registered voters who lack financial means or transportation, or who have special legal issues such as the inability to get a birth certificate, the State should expend extraordinary effort to assist these voters. In my view, that extraordinary effort is warranted and, given the Court’s decision today, may be constitutionally required.

House Republican Leader Brian Bosma

• “This assures that every vote counts, but counts only once.  Showing an i.d. is a simple process that people encounter on a daily basis from renting a movie at blockbuster, to boarding an airplane.  Showing identification protects the integrity of every vote.”

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller says the federal government is overstepping its bound so he is joining 13 other states in suing over the new health care law.

Zoeller repeated his arguments that the individual mandate that all citizens have insurance is an overreach of the Commerce Clause because it requires individuals to buy a commercial product based on citizenship.  In addition he argues that the new mandates regarding medicaid trample on state sovereignty.

However, before joining the suit Zoeller says he got the other Attorneys General adopt an additional argument with their complaint.   His point; that health insurance is a state-regulated product which is not sold across state lines and the sole purview of the states.  He says the new health care plan would interfere with state regulation of insurance and therefore violate the 10th Amendment.

Zoeller says by joining in with other states, Indiana does not have to bear the full cost of litigation, but instead will share in the estimated $50,000 worth of legal costs.

You can hear with my interview with Attorney General below.

Zoeller lawsuit

The Indianapolis Star and the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics both released poll numbers today indicating that the Guv’s race is over. The Star has Democratic challenger Jill Long Thompson down by 18 points; the Downs Center shows her trailing by 17 points. I still think this one will wind up around 10 percent because of the Obama factor.

Speaking of Obama, the Star poll showed yesterday that he and John McCain are in a dead heat. The Downs Center poll shows the two candidates tied at 47 percent.

The Downs Center also polled the other two statewide races.

In the Attorney General’s race, Republican Greg Zoeller leads Democrat Linda Pence 46 percent to 42 percent. Republican Tony Bennett leads Democrat Richard Wood 45 percent to 41 percent in the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

What does all this mean?

The two down-ballot statewide races are tied to Obama’s turnout and performance; the Guv’s race is the result of a nearly flawless campaign by incumbent Mitch Daniels and a nearly nonexistent campaign by Thompson.

Great news for Democratic Attorney General candidate Linda Pence: Greg Zoeller is reportedly going off the air next week.

Rumor has it the national Republican AG’s group has pulled its funding for Zoeller after a tiff with the local folks about the direction of the campaign.

Zoeller and Pence have both been running ads a-plenty, but the race has largely been overshadowed by the presidential campaigns. This gives Pence a real opportunity to define herself in the last week, when plenty of independent voters will be making up their minds.