The Clark County Election Board was scheduled to meet Nov. 10 to tally ballots cast at Jeffersonville High School, according to a notice released Nov. 6. The four affected precincts cast 2,280 votes in the Senate District 45 race, roughly 60% of which went to Marshall, according to Indiana secretary of state election results.

Adam Dickey, chair of the 9th Congressional District Democratic Party, said concerns were raised after a voting machine temporarily jammed on Election Day. While the machine was down, voters placed their ballots in an auxiliary box to be scanned later that night, according to reporting from WDRB+WAVE.

"The priority is to ensure that those discrepancies are answered and addressed," Dickey said.

Clark County Clerk Ryan Lynch was not in the office when contacted Nov. 9 and did not return a voicemail. In a statement, Garten said he was confident in his victory and characterized Democrats' concerns as "politically motivated speculation."

"There is an important distinction between raising legitimate questions about an election and making unsubstantiated allegations that undermine public confidence in the integrity of our elections," Garten said. "Hoosier voters deserve transparency, accountability, and facts — not politically motivated speculation intended to cast doubt on an election without credible evidence."

The board will not tally votes for candidates at the meeting, according to the notice. It is unclear whether the board's findings could flip the race, but a similar situation has happened before: in 2022, a data transfer error left roughly 1,700 Clark County absentee ballots out of the initial results, and when counted, the ballots flipped the House District 71 race in favor of Democrat Rita Fleming.

Marshall has not conceded, telling supporters on his campaign Facebook page to stand by while "democracy play[s] out." He declined to comment.

Garten, who is all but certain to become Senate president pro tempore after Sen. Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said he would not seek re-election as leader, did not respond to a request for comment. Senate Republicans have already selected him as leader, though the choice won't be official until Democrats can weigh in.

The tight race is one feature of a Democratic wave that swept Indiana on Nov. 3, electing two Democratic statewide candidates, flipping more than a dozen state legislative seats and giving Democrats an additional congressional seat. If Garten were to lose, it would trigger another last-minute leadership election after the defeat of former House Speaker Todd Huston.

The race for Clark County auditor is also close: Republican R. Monty Snelling currently leads Democrat Antonio Veals by 257 votes, according to election results from the Indiana secretary of state's office.

The deadline to certify votes for state legislative offices is Nov. 16, just before the ceremonial start to the legislative session.