With little possibility to alter the outcome, the write-in candidate for Monroe County council filed a recount

Monroe County, Indiana – The paperwork to request a recount has been submitted to the circuit court by Joe Davis, a write-in candidate for an at-large seat on the Monroe County council in the election scheduled for November 5.

The outcome of the contest, which placed incumbent Democrats Trent Deckard and Cheryl Munson in two of the seats and another Democrat, David Henry, in the third, would remain unchanged even if a recount were to occur.

328 verified write-in votes went to Davis. 463 more write-in votes were turned down. Davis would receive 791 votes if it were found that every one of the rejected write-ins was for him during the recount process.

That is around 24,000 less votes than David Henry, who came in third.

In a pick-up-to-three race, the top three vote-getters win seats on the at-large county council. The ballot did not include any Republicans.

A $7,400 deposit or bond that Davis must post in accordance with Indiana state election law could be a barrier to a recount.

On November 20, 2024, Monroe County Circuit Judge Kara Krothe issued an order requiring the $7,400 bond or deposit to be posted within 14 days.

Davis was granted a waiver of the court filing cost, which is typically $157, on the grounds that he does not have enough money to cover it.

The amount of the needed deposit, which may appear odd at first, is determined by the 83 precincts in Monroe County.

According to state law, the minimum deposit is $100, with an additional $100 added for each precinct with more than ten votes, in a race like this year’s at-large county council campaign, when the winner and petitioner’s vote differences exceed one percent of the total number of votes.

This means that for Monroe County, the initial amount is $100, which covers 10 precincts. An additional $100 is paid for each precinct that is more than 10, totaling 73. The total comes to $7,400.

Davis stated to The B Square last Monday night (November 19) that he is primarily interested in examining the ballots that contain rejected write-ins for his race in order to determine the reasons for their rejection. In other words, he doesn’t want the recount to alter the result.

In certain states, the actual paper votes are public records that may be accessed in accordance with the relevant freedom of information rules.

However, it appears that the pertinent statute in the state of Indiana maintains ballot confidentiality specifically.

According to the election materials section of the Indiana state election law, all election materials are subject to inspection and copying following the adjudication of the provisional ballots.

However, ballots have a clear carve-out. “With the exception of ballots and provisional ballots, which remain confidential,” is the specific clause that deviates from the general rule that all election-related data become public records.

Janna Arthur received 324 write-in votes for the same office in 2020, which is comparable to Davis’s 328 write-in votes. Randy Paul received 268 votes for his write-in campaign for District 2 county commissioner in 2020.