Democratic Party files for recount in Jasper District 4

The Dubois County Democratic Party has filed a petition for a recount in Jasper’s District 4.

In a race that saw 512 votes cast, the District 4 council seat changed hands by a difference of two votes, allowing Republican Vince Helming (257 votes) to oust incumbent Democrat Dave Hurst (255 votes). The petition filed by Democratic Chair Teresa Kendall is asking the Dubois County Circuit Court to allow a recount of the district that includes Bainbridge 4S and Bainbridge 4N.

“I felt like a two-vote difference was something that should be checked out. I don’t have any doubt in the integrity of the election. I think our elections are handled very well by a very competent county clerk,” Democratic Party Chair Teresa Kendall said in an interview today. “I certainly do not want anyone to think I doubted the elections. But it’s a two-vote difference. I think it needs to be recounted, just so that we can feel confident.”

Kendall mentioned that there were issues with a ballot in the fourth district but added the county clerk immediately took care of that issue. She added that this was not why the Democratic Party filed for the recount.

Regarding the issue with the ballot Kendall mentioned, Clerk Amy Kippenbrock explained that a voter came in for early voting about two weeks into the early voting process, cast their vote but later questioned if their ballot was incorrect — the voter thought they should have had Mr. Helming and Mr. Hurst on their ballot.

After looking into the issue, Kippenbrock determined that two voters who were in the same household had not been updated in the system after the redistricting that occurred in 2022. Kippenbrock contacted the election division and was told to have the voter go through the process of “spoiling” the ballot — filing paperwork for an improper ballot and then having a new ballot issued for the voters.

This was completed and the voters’ information was updated and they were able to cast their ballots in the appropriate race.

Afterward, the clerk’s office performed an audit of all the Jasper districts to ensure this was an isolated occurrence. According to Kippenbrock, they didn’t find any other voters similarly affected.

Kendall said while the Clerk’s Office was working through the issue, both parties were involved and Kippenbrock ensured they understood what had happened. “We felt it was a glitch and everybody felt good about it,” Kendall said about the clerk’s actions and the situation being rectified.

But after the election, this occurrence led to a discussion among the Democratic Party members and Mr. Hurst. Though Mr. Hurst was not pushing for a recount, Kendall said as the party chair, she wanted to pursue it since the vote had been so close.

She confirmed the petition wasn’t based on any particular issue, just that errors happen and this race was very close. “I don’t want to have anyone doubting the integrity of our elections in Dubois County,” she added. “This is about an election in which there is a two point (vote) difference.”

The petition was filed in Dubois County Circuit Court, and according to Kippenbrock, she doesn’t know when Circuit Court Judge Nathan Verkamp will decide on whether or not to allow the recount to proceed. “I expect that will occur in the next two weeks,” she said.

If the petition is approved, under the Indiana election code, Judge Verkamp will designate a three-person commission comprised of registered voters. The recount commission must have at least one Democratic representative and one Republican representative to conduct the count (Indiana code dictates that a representative of each major party specifically). The commission members are eligible to be compensated for participating in the recount.

The judge will also designate the time and place for the recount. Under Indiana law, the recount for a general election must be completed by December 20.

Dubois County uses electronic voting machines, and results are tabulated digitally, after which a tally is printed for verification. Voters have multiple opportunities during the process to confirm their ballot is correct, and a printed receipt can be reviewed afterward to confirm their vote was recorded correctly.

As in the 2015 tie between Jasper mayoral candidates Terry Seitz and Wayne Schuetter, the mail-in ballots are the most likely area where discrepancies could occur.

A Democrat and Republican party representative reviews these ballots before being mailed to the voter. Before being mailed, both representatives must initial the ballot, confirming it has been reviewed. It is then stamped, and the clerk signs it.

In the 2015 race, a single ballot lacking both sets of initials was thrown out, allowing Terry Seitz to go on to a second term as Jasper’s mayor.

Another way a paper ballot can be questioned is if the bubble isn’t filled out correctly. Paper ballots are tabulated by a machine that reads which bubble was filled in with a No. 2 pencil — similar to standardized tests in school. If these are not filled in completely or sloppily, the ballot could be called into question.

In this case, there were four mail-in ballots, according to Kippenbrock and three of them were cast for Mr. Hurst. So, likely, anything called into question there won’t result in a different outcome in the election.

The Republican Party has not had a chance to review the petition, but GOP Party Chair Bob Duncan issued the following statement.

“The Republican Party, more than any other, wants open, honest, accurate, and fair elections from the local to the national level, and we feel that is what we have here in Dubois County. Even though the result was close, we are confident it won’t change.
The greatest chance of any ambiguity in a local election lies with the absentee votes. Four absentee votes were cast in Jasper D-4, and three of those four were in favor of Mr. Hurst, so we don’t see anything changing except potentially wasting county taxpayer money.
In terms of our actions, that will be determined after a review of the petition by ourselves and/or our attorney.”

Kendall said the Democratic Party would accept the outcome of the recount.