Candidates removed from ballot

Three candidates were removed from the primary ballot in Owen County following nearly six hours of testimony before the County Election Board and more than two hours of results spanning two days.

The board heard a total of nine CAN-1 challenges, two of which came from County Republican Chair Kristi Risk. The other seven came from local citizen Pam Rogers.

CAN-1 is the specific name of the form used to challenge whether or not a candidate is legally qualified to appear on the ballot. These forms trigger a hearing brought before the county election board.

The election board consists of chair Tony Voelker representing the Republican Party, vice chair Frank Coffin representing the Democratic Party and board secretary Diane Stutsman, who is also Owen County's Clerk. Voelker and Coffin are former county chairs of their respective parties.

Also present and guiding the board was attorney Richard Lorenz.

The results meeting took place on Feb. 26, while the testimony from those filing the challenges and the candidates being challenged took place the day prior.

Lorenz said the hearing revealed broader issues with how candidate forms are completed. He also noted the high level of scrutiny from the challenges and that that level of scrutiny would yield similar results across the state.

He pointed out that the candidate guide for the State of Indiana consists of 150 pages.

"If the form is only two pages and it takes you 150 pages to explain all the details and ramifications, it is evidence there's a little bit more to this than might appear," he said.

He noted that similar errors were made by multiple candidates, suggesting confusion with the form rather than intentional misconduct.

Voelker said he would weigh whether the forms were delinquent or defective. He noted that delinquency has civil penalties attached to it, unless the election board unanimously votes to waive them. Defectiveness, on the other hand, is given a period of time to address the issue or issues beforehand.

He also thanked Rogers who "pointed out some systemic failures in our county" and agreed that the issue is likely statewide. He called it "a good teachable moment."

Coffin concurred, saying that his approach is to have candidates on the ballot unless there is no choice to do so provided in the legal remedies. He said the challengers "call you to account" and thanked the candidates, noting, "These are judgements of law, not judgement of person."

He thanked Voelker and his other colleagues for being nonpartisan in their shared work.

"It's not that we've never disagreed, but we've always gotten along," he said. "I'm grateful because when you take an oath, if you're a poll worker or an election board worker, you quit being a Democrat or a Republican. You become a citizen representing the interests of the citizen."

He then said that many of the challenges were technical challenges.

"Error is not fraud. Error is error," Coffin said.

He said a mistake on a form does not invalidate the entire form. He stressed issues with delinquent and defective CFAs or campaign finance reports, which he said he intends to follow up on. Those issues can still be brought up in a separate hearing to cure deficiencies in those forms, as campaign finance extends until that particular campaign finance committee is formally disbanded. During those additional hearings, the board can issue fines, penalties or referrals based on the CFA forms.

The election board then considered the challenges, candidate by candidate.

Dustin "Dusty" White, Republican candidate for County Assessor

The election board first considered the challenge for Dustin "Dusty" White, the only Republican candidate for County Assessor. The challenge was brought forth by Rogers.

Voelker said that the overriding factor in his view is that White did not submit a CAN-12 with his CAN-2 and that the law says that the clerk shall not accept a CAN-2 without a CAN-12, which cannot be amended or added after the fact.

A CAN-2 is the form used to declare a nomination for the primary ballot on either the Republican or Democratic ticket, while a CAN-12 establishes a campaign's finance committee.

Voelker said not filling a CAN-12 disqualifies a candidate from a primary ballot and that this was clearly an error but that the law was clear.

"We don't have wiggle room," he said.

He said this overrides the other challenges raised in the challenge.

Because this would make it an open ballot position, with no Republican candidate, the party has the ability to caucus White to place him on the November ballot as a Republican. The deadline to do so is July 3. He also has the option to run as an independent.

Coffin also felt like the board did not have a choice and that it was simply an error with no malfeasance.

"I hope it serves, not just in his case, but it serves as the warning I was talking about earlier," Coffin said. "You need to take this stuff seriously. You can't just walk in and say, 'Hoodie doody.'"

Voelker moved to disqualify White from appearing on the Republican primary ballot, and Coffin seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0.

This leaves no candidate for either party for county assessor.

Walter Newman, Republican candidate for County Council District 1

The first of the two "open and shut" cases considered was the challenge for Walter Newman, Republican candidate for County Council District 1. During his testimony the day prior, Newman said it was his intent to run as an independent and that when filing the form, he did not wish to make a party selection.

The challenge for his candidacy was filed by Risk because Newman did not vote in the Republican primary during the last two elections, which is a requirement for party eligibility. The other option, according to the CAN-2 form, is certification from the county's party chair, which Newman did not receive.

Voelker said that he felt the law was clear and Coffin agreed. Coffin said if Newman wants to run as an independent in the fall as he intended to do, he still can and should do so, but he is not eligible to run as a Republican.

Voelker moved to disqualify Newman from appearing on the primary ballot, and Coffin seconded the motion before it passed 3-0.

This leaves Loretta Foster and Lori L. Warner on the Republican ballot, and Sandra K. Calvert on the Democratic ballot. Lori Warner and Calvert also faced CAN-1 challenges of their own.

William D. Fulk, Republican candidate for County Council District 4

The other "open and shut" case heard by the election board was the challenge for William D. Fulk, Republican candidate for County Council District 4.

Fulk was also challenged by Risk for the same reasons as Newman—he did not vote in the last two primaries or receive certification from the party chair.

Fulk did not provide testimony the day prior like Newman, but like Newman, he too could run as an independent.

Coffin moved to disqualify Fulk from appearing on the Republican ballot. Voelker seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

This leaves Andy Wood as the only Republican on the GOP primary ballot for the position. There is not currently a candidate on the Democratic ticket.

Sandra K. Calvert, Democratic candidate for County Council District 1

The election board then considered the challenge for Sandra K. Calvert, Democratic candidate for County Council District 1.

The challenge was filed by Rogers.

Voelker said that the only aspect that had merit to him was missing a section in the middle that specifies how one's name should appear on the ballot. He said there was another aspect challenged saying that Calvert did not sign the CAN-2 under oath. Voelker said that was proven to be not true. Whether or not the forms were signed under oath was of the aspects continually called into question with several of Rogers' challenges.

He called the failure to specify how the name should appear on the ballot a "harmless error."

Coffin concurred.

"If you look at that form, that doesn't look like a signature block. In all the forms we've seen, that's the one that least looks like a signature block. Anybody can miss it. I've missed it myself, in former times," he said.

In addition, several of Rogers' challenges also questioned the signatures from the clerk's office. Coffin said that in his opinion, the seals and file stamps on the documents show the clerk's office's intention to accept the documents.

The election board unanimously voted to deny the challenge and uphold Calvert appearing on the primary ballot.

Calvert is the only Democratic candidate on the primary ballot for the position, meaning she has secured the party nomination for the general election and will appear on that ballot as well. In November, she will run against either Foster or Lori Warner who will secure the GOP bid. Lori Warner's challenge can be found below. If Newman refiles as an independent, he would also appear on the ballot for consideration of this council spot.

Leonard "Sam" Hobbs, Republican candidate for Sheriff

Next, the election board considered the challenge of Leonard "Sam" Hobbs' candidacy for Owen County Sheriff on the Republican ticket. Hobbs is currently a county commissioner.

The challenge was filed by Rogers and centered around Hobbs' CAN-2 form, but her testimony noted issues with the CFA forms. Because they were not on the official challenge document, the board could not consider them.

Voelker noted that the challenge alleged delinquency in the forms, but that to him it appeared as if they were filed or attempted to be filed but done incorrectly. He specified that the law is different depending on if a form is delinquent or defective, with defective forms receiving an opportunity for correction. He noted that Hobbs' testimony acknowledged errors in the forms, which Hobbs filed corrected versions the day before, following the election board hearing.

Failure to correct the forms could lead to civil penalties.

Voelker said that he believes the intent is for CFA forms to be treated differently than the CAN-2 and CAN-12 forms because they have separate civil penalties.

Coffin agreed citing the fact that the financial reporting extends beyond the life of any given campaign and said he intended to press for audits on the CFA forms.

Part of the findings included that the campaign financial reports are in controversy in some way and that the board would hold a separate hearing to audit all past or unfilled campaign finance reports and reporting requirements.

Voelker moved to deny the challenge and for the board to do a continuing audit on the CFA forms. Coffin seconded the motion, which passed 3-0.

Hobbs, who is a former two-term Owen County Sheriff, will appear on the Republican primary ballot against incumbent Ryan T. White. There is not currently a candidate from the Democratic Party for sheriff.

Amy L. Meier, Republican candidate for County Surveyor

The election board then considered the challenge for Amy L. Meier's candidacy for County Surveyor on the Republican ballot.

The challenge was filed by Rogers, who is also running for surveyor on the Republican ticket.

While the challenges centered upon similar technical issues as other candidates, there was also a challenge on Meier's residency, which the election board did not substantiate.

Voelker did specifically note that there were several blocks of questions not filled out on Meier's CAN-12, which should have at least included "N/A" instead of leaving them blank. However, because they were not part of the CAN-1 challenge, despite being included in testimony, the board did not feel that they could issue a finding on the form under the challenge that was filed.

"I think the state of the CAN-12 was a disgrace to be blunt about that," Coffin said, adding that leaving questions like who is your spouse blank bothered him. "She just didn't bother to answer the questions, and I was troubled by that. But at the same time that my being troubled by that is irrelevant because the challenger didn't bring it up."

Voelker said that Meier would be included in the board's future hearing on financial forms.

"Those were substantial errors that there really is no excuse for," Voelker began.

"Neglect," Coffin interjected.

"It was neglectful. It really was," Voelker finished.

Voelker moved to deny the challenge, and Coffin seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Lori L. Warner, Republican candidate for County Council District 1

The election board then considered the CAN-1 challenge for Republican candidate for County Council District 1, Lori L. Warner. Rogers filed the challenge.

Similar technical issues from other challenges were present.

One point that did have some merit was that the CFA-1 form was erroneously filed without a signature. Voelker said that the guide for the election board states that if a candidate files without one, the election board may file one on their behalf without a signature. To him, the oversight of it not being signed does not qualify as a reason to remove a candidate from the ballot.

Voelker moved to deny the challenge, which Coffin seconded. The motion passed 2-1, with Stutsman voting against the motion.

Norman "Norm" C. Warner, Republican candidate for County Commissioner District 1

Next, the election board considered the challenge for Republican candidate for County Commissioner District 1, Norman "Norm" C. Warner. The challenge was filed by Rogers.

In addition to the same technical issues from other challenges, the board noted several errors on his CFA, which were not brought up on the CAN-1 challenge form but did come up in testimony.

Voelker moved to deny the challenge and to talk further about the issues on the CFA forms. The motion was seconded by Coffin and passed 3-0.

Norm Warner will appear on the Republican primary ballot in a contested race against fellow Republican hopeful Jeffery Johnson.

Nicholas Pecenica, Democratic candidate for County Clerk

Finally, the election board considered the challenge for Democratic candidate Nicholas Pecenica for Owen County Clerk, which was also filed by Rogers.

Pecenica was challenged on residency, which was disputed by utility bills, in addition to the other technical issues.

Voelker moved to deny the challenge, and Coffin seconded the motion. The motion passed 2-0-1, with Stutsman abstaining because she and Pecenica will be opponents in the general election, with Pecenica being the only Democratic candidate on the primary ballot, securing the party nod, and Stutsman being the only GOP candidate on the primary ballot.

Closing remarks from the election board

After concluding with the last challenge, the election board members each offered closing statements about next steps.

Voelker said he plans on making recommendations on how the voter registration office processes the paperwork moving forward as well as encouraging additional training from the local Republican Party. He also said there would be ongoing hearings about the CFA forms.

Coffin thanked Rogers, noting that while there might be disappointment in some of the outcomes, there is remedy for the challengers if they so choose.

Stutsman said she wants to work together to ensure candidates have the resources they need and that her office encourages candidates to complete all areas of the forms to avoid future technical challenges. She said her office cannot tell candidates how to answer any particular question.

Voelker stressed that they can "very adamantly say every single thing needs to be answered" and to not leave blank fields.

Coffin said he will be reporting the information to his party chairman, Bill Breeden.

Lorenz offered that there were other challenges which could have been made but were not filed.

"Some of the other candidates may find these same deficits in their portfolio, but they were not challenged," Lorenz said. "Those that were challenged and upheld are sort of standing as surrogates for the people that might have been challenged."

Voelker's focus was on preventing these issues moving forward and addressing the CFA forms in a future hearing. As of press time, that hearing had not yet been scheduled.

"You can't put toothpaste back in the tube," he said. "We understand that for things that have happened in the past, but we can get it right going forward and stay there. And that's kind of our goal, I believe, for all of us. Let's tighten up the ship and get it sailing straight."