Election complaint: St. John man offered $100 for referendum “no” votes

A St. John man faces punishment for posting on social media his offer of $100 to each “no vote” in the recent Lake Central schools’ referendum.

The Lake County Board of Elections and Registration on Thursday voted to forward to the Lake County Prosecutor’s office the name of William Purcell of St. John on a charge of violation of election laws.

Purcell, if found guilty, faces a level 6 felony charge, board chairman Kevin Smith said.

Purcell, who posted the “currently paying $100 for each no vote on the referendum,” wasn’t at the meeting and couldn’t be reached for comment by phone or through social media.

Voters in both the Lake Central and Hanover Community school districts passed the renewals of two property tax measures in the special elections held on Nov. 4, according to election results.

Smith, who showed a photocopy of Purcell’s online message, said he had posted it on his St. John Indiana Discussion Forum prior to the Nov. 4 election.

The Lake County Board of Elections and Registration, prior to voting, listened to and received written testimony from Mary Blum and Lauren Bridgeman, both of whom served as volunteers for the group seeking to pass the Lake Central referendum.

Bridgeman also presented to the board a copy of a report she made through Cedar Lake Police after Purcell is alleged to have posted a wedding photo of Bridgeman and her husband with an apparently racial slur “it would be fun if ICE found her.”

Lake County Election Board Attorney Carly Brandenburg said she reached out to Purcell, through his Facebook account, and he told her the offer of $100 was meant to be a parody and she wasn’t “bright enough” to get it.

Bridgeman and Blum said they reached out to Purcell on numerous occasions to let him know he was clearly violating election codes and even sent him the reference number of the law.

Bridgeman said Purcell continued to ignore them and, at one point, changed his offer and said he was offering Monopoly money and not real money.

Blum said what was ironic was Purcell was offering to pay for no votes but at the same time saying the referendum, if passed, was taking money out of the pockets of senior citizens.

Bridgeman, a teacher at Lake Central, said she had volunteered for the group in favor of the referendum because it would benefit students.

She said Purcell crossed the line with his offers of money and harassment of those in favor of the referendum.

“You can’t break the law and get away with it,” Bridgeman said.

Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.