Voters targeted by threat of Copenhaver’s recount subpoenas push back in Senate District 23
Will 14 voters be called to testify on Paula Copenhaver’s claims of ‘tampering’ in her 3-vote loss to Sen. Spencer Deery? What some say they’ll do if called on to explain their votes under oath.
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VOTERS TARGETED BY THREAT OF COPENHAVER’S RECOUNT SUBPOENAS PUSH BACK IN SENATE DISTRICT 23
Pre-recount inspections started Wednesday morning in the six counties that contain Indiana Senate District 23, where Republican Paula Copenhaver is challenging results of the May 5 primary she lost by three votes to state Sen. Spencer Deery, according to an order issued Tuesday by the Indiana Recount Commission.
Starting in Vermillion County Wednesday morning, the state Recount Commission is scheduled to work their way through the sprawling Senate district by June 3 to check sites where ballots and voting equipment already have been impounded and locked by Indiana State Police.
That includes a stop at the Tippecanoe County Office Building on Monday, June 1, with a backup date listed for Tuesday, June 2, according to the order from Evan Norris, a Zionsville-based attorney assigned Tuesday to oversee the recount. A schedule for the actual recount hasn’t been announced. Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush said she’d been told that could happen in mid-June.
Not addressed in Tuesday’s order – at least not yet – is how the Indiana Recount Commission will handle Copenhaver’s request to subpoena and question under oath 14 voters in Senate District 23 she accuses of illegally voting. Copenhaver contends they weren’t eligible to ask for a Republican ballot and contributed to “substantial evidence of tampering” in an election that ended up 6,337-6,334 in Deery’s favor.
Several of the voters singled out in Copenhaver’s May 18 recount petition – whether because they spoke about the primary to media outlets, including Based in Lafayette, or discussed the election on social media – told BiL in the past week that they had not been contacted by the Indiana Recount Commission or received subpoenas to testify about how they voted.
Each one – including two of the three called out in Copenhaver’s petition despite not living or voting in Senate District 23 – was sorting through what they’ll do if a subpoena arrives.
“Still deciding,” Jes Johnson, one of the 14 named in a portion of Copenhaver’s challenge that has since been sealed, said. “I have nothing to hide. But, I don’t want to help set any precedent forcing any citizen to testify on how they vote.”
