Review of ballots done … and now we wait in Senate District 23 recount
No indication that state Sen. Spencer Deery lost ground to GOP challenger Paula Copenhaver, though official results could take weeks.
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REVIEW OF BALLOTS DONE … AND NOW WE WAIT IN INDIANA SENATE DISTRICT 23 RECOUNT
The State Board of Accounts did not need a second day in Covington as first suspected, wrapping up its review of Fountain County ballots and precinct results Thursday in state Sen. Spencer Deery’s three-vote primary victory over Republican challenger Paula Copenhaver in Indiana Senate District 23.
Now, the recount process – which took more than a week across six counties in the sprawling district – awaits a report to the Indiana Recount Commission from Evan Norris, a Zionsville-based attorney assigned to oversee the process.
Norris did not immediately respond, as of Friday morning, for an update. But based on reports from watchers since the recount started June 16 in Tippecanoe County, the review of the ballot count didn’t find the votes Copenhaver would need to overturn the primary Deery won by a count of 6,337-6,334.
Deery declined to comment Friday in deference to the “ongoing legal process.” Copenhaver did not immediately respond for comment.
Still in play are challenges of ballots in several precincts in the six counties. Example: Copenhaver’s backers disputed all ballots cast in six of the 32 Tippecanoe County precincts, each containing some of the 14 voters her campaign singled out and accused of tampering with the primary by illegally crossing over and pulling Republican ballots.
Last week, after Day 1 of the recount in Tippecanoe County, Norris said at the end of the State Board of Accounts review, he would assemble a report of the recount results, along with any disputes, and present that to the three-member Indiana Recount Commission. That hearing date hasn’t been set. Norris said it likely would come after two other recounts he’s overseeing in the state are finished by July 1.
In an order dated June 19, Norris extend the deadline, from June 26 to July 17, for either side to weigh in on Copenhaver’s demand to subpoena some voters to explain their choices in the May 5 primary. The new schedule then gives each side until July 24 to respond to one another.
The order says the Indiana Recount Commission would schedule a hearing on the demand for subpoenas after those filing deadlines.
(It wasn’t clear Friday whether Deery’s or Copenhaver’s sides had filed new motions in the recount in recent weeks, based on a docket maintained by the Indiana Recount Commission. The most recent filings listed publicly for Senate District 23 on the Indiana Recount Commission’s site date to June 5. The Secretary of State’s office did not immediately respond to questions Friday about when updates would be public.)
