Politics
Clark County Election Board Declines Recount After Ballot Discrepancy at Jeffersonville High School
The Clark County Election Board voted not to recount ballots after a voting machine malfunction at Jeffersonville High School produced 28 more ballots than checked-in voters, a discrepancy that looms over a tight Indiana Senate race where Republican incumbent Chris Garten leads Democrat Larry Mahaney by just 297 votes.
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. â The Clark County Election Board has voted against a recount of ballots cast at Jeffersonville High School, despite a discrepancy that left election officials with 28 more ballots than voters who checked in at the polling site on Election Day.
The irregularity stemmed from a malfunctioning electronic poll book used to check in voters and the replacement of a ballot scanner while voting was underway. The affected ballots came from four Jeffersonville precincts that vote at the high school.
According to Clark County Election Board member Tony Singleton, voting continued while the scanner was swapped out. Ballots cast during that period were collected and later fed through the replacement machine by poll workers.
"After people have voted and left, then poll workers in their bipartisan fashion can then count those ballots by feeding them through the machines," Singleton said.
Ted Noltling, an attorney for Republican Senate candidate Chris Garten, said the scanner replacement was conducted in front of both Republican and Democratic poll workers, and that the totals from the old and new machines were compared.
"The totals were reviewed for the old machine and the new machine. They matched up," Noltling said.
But attorney Mickey Weber, who has raised concerns about the count, said key questions remain unanswered.
"Part of the problem here has been the inability to get information that may answer these questions," Weber said. "It may well be that they've counted every vote and counted every vote correctly."
Weber said he expects some action to be taken but needs to review the information and discuss next steps before deciding how to proceed.
The board's decision comes as the race for an Indiana Senate seat remains razor-thin. Republican incumbent Chris Garten holds a 297-vote lead over Democrat Larry Mahaney in a district that includes Clark County and parts of Floyd County. Garten was recently elected by fellow Republicans to lead the Indiana Senate.
Candidates have until Nov. 17 to file petitions for a recount.
The discrepancy has drawn attention from voters and attorneys on both sides, underscoring how even small procedural problems at the polls can take on outsized importance in a contest decided by a few hundred votes. Election officials have defended the integrity of the count, while critics say the lack of clear public information has fueled uncertainty.
The Clark County Election Board's vote not to recount means the current tallies stand unless a candidate files a formal recount petition before the deadline.