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Bloomington, Indiana – During a meeting on Thursday, the Monroe County Election Board denied Independent mayoral candidate Joe Davis’ request to reconsider the more than 200 invalid signatures he had gathered to qualify for the November ballot. The challenge was defeated by a unanimous vote of the board members.

Davis claimed to have gathered 600 signatures, but the actual number was 14 less than the 352 required by state law to be included on the ballot. About 200 of the signatures obtained were rejected. Many of these signatures, according to B Square Bulletin, were probably invalid because they were provided by citizens whose voter registration was still pending.

A pending voter is a person who just updated or registered to vote and must wait seven days for their registration to be approved, according to the Indiana Election Division.

In particular, Davis said that voters in Bloomington who put their residences at the Shalom Community Center, a day shelter and resource center in Bloomington, would be rendered ineligible to vote if the signatures were rejected at the meeting on Thursday.

In order to get signatures for his petition to be placed on the ballot, Davis claimed he assisted locals, such as Rebecca Haviland of Bloomington, in completing voter registration forms. Haviland, who spoke in favor of Davis before the board on Thursday, claimed that the independent candidate assisted her in becoming a voter.

Nicole Browne, the Monroe County Clerk and a member of the Election Board, stated during the meeting on Thursday that there is no method specified in Indiana law that would permit the board to reconsider the registration status of the disqualified signatures.

Davis informed the board that he intends to sue in order to be included on the ballot. He claimed to have contacted the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to ask for help.

The only candidate on the November mayoral ballot will be Democratic nominee Kerry Thomson.