Indiana secretary of state: Hurricane relief not government's responsibility

American reaction to Hurricane Katrina might have cost the country the dream of ever achieving a contained federal government, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita said Wednesday night.\n"It absolutely amazed me how quick we were to say that the government was responsible for that hurricane," Rokita told attendees of a program presented by the IU Republican Women. "If we continue to think that way, pretty soon we will be living in a country that looks not unlike the former USSR."\nRokita, a republican, who holds one of the highest elected offices in the state and is treasurer of the National Association of Secretaries of State, gave his speech Wednesday night in the Indiana Memorial Union as part of the IU Republican Women lecture series titled, "Something to Talk About." During the lecture, he spoke about election reform, economic development and Hurricane Katrina.\nThe responsibility of reconstruction after the hurricane, he said in a post-lecture interview, should have been placed upon the shoulders of citizens, churches and neighbors. Rokita criticized American reliance on the federal government after the disaster, saying this increased the scope and role of federal government, hindering America's chances of ever containing it.\n"I never thought about it like that," sophomore Molly Carpenter said. "I used to think that the federal government did do a bad job. I never thought before that the people should take responsibility."\nRokita's current position as treasurer of the National Association of Secretaries of State puts him in line to serve as president of the organization for the 2007-2008 term, pending re-election as Indiana Secretary of State in 2006.\nSince taking office in 2003, Rokita has focused on election reform. His experience with elections involved recounting votes in Florida for George W. Bush's team in the 2000 election. He has worked to help all Indiana counties upgrade from their old voting equipment and to create a statewide database of registered voters to keep people from voting in more than one county. He also worked to help pass a bill requiring all voters to provide photo identification before being allowed to vote, he said during the lecture.\n"Common sense people like the idea of coming up with a photo ID requirement," said Rokita, adding that, according to his polls, 70 to 80 percent of Indiana residents agree with the bill.\nWith the passage of this bill, all motor vehicle bureaus will now offer free photo identification to all citizens with the proper documents. Opponents of this bill argue it discriminates against minorities, who often do not have access to the required documents.\nThe next step, Rokita said, will be a push for the requirement of proof of U.S. citizenship before obtaining photo identification from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.\n"It was such a fight just to get a photo ID requirement that we didn't tackle the citizenship issue," Rokita said.\nTo increase voter turnout in the 2006 election, Rokita said he will implement a full array of education for voters through public service announcements and train poll workers to create a better voting experience. He will also encourage counties to use 16- and 17-year-old poll workers to spark political interest in young people, he said in the interview.\nAside from election reform, Rokita said his main goals for his office are educating Hoosiers about financial decisions and continuing economic development.\nAt age 34, Rokita is the second youngest secretary of state in the country. Some of the biggest challenges of his position, he said, come from his young age.\n"It's because I'm so young that it's hard to establish credibility with my older peers," Rokita said. "The key is to approach people with an attitude of truthfulness, competence and confidence."\nRokita's young age was exactly what qualified him to speak before this audience, said Lindsay Kerrigan, president of the IU Republican Women.\n"He was able to achieve so much at a young age," Kerrigan said. "And because he is in charge of elections, IU students should care, because Monroe County is one of the most highly contested districts in the U.S"