Mack is not off the ballot yet, Judge stays his decision until after sentencing hearing

The hearing regarding Jeffrey “Mack” Steffen’s continued candidacy in the Jasper Mayoral Election was held this morning. Steffen was convicted of five felony counts of intimidation and theft in connection with an incident that occurred in March 2010. According to Indiana Code, convicted felons are not allowed to hold public office (Indiana Code at end of story).

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Judge William Weikert heard arguments from Eric Schue, Dubois County Republican Party Chair and from Scott Blazey, Steffen’s representation.

Schue argued that according to the State Statute in regards to felony convictions and eligibility for public office, Steffen was exempt from running for office at the moment he received the verdict from the jury.

Blazey stated that the statute left room to allow for circumstances in which the individual could still run for office. He contends that since Steffen has not received sentencing and his verdict could be overturned, Steffen should be allowed to stay on the ballot at this time.

Weikert deliberated for approximately ten minutes before reaching a decision. He stated that Steffen has the legal right to come before the court and ask for leniency at the time of the sentencing hearing. Weikert continued that due to the removal being tied to Steffen’s sentencing he would not make a decision on the issue until after Steffen’s sentencing hearing.

Steffen is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on September 28 at 9:30 a.m. He declined to comment on today’s proceedings.

According to Dubois County Clerk Bridgette Jarboe stated that some absentee ballots will be sent out on September 23. If Steffen is subsequently removed from the ballot on the 28th, her office will have to contact those individuals personally to offer a new ballot.

Jarboe has pushed off testing of the voting machines until October 5 to account for the upcoming decisions.
blockquoteaddressstrongIndiana Code/strong/addressaddressIC 3-8-1-5/addressaddressDisqualification of candidates/addressaddressSec. 5. (a) This section does not apply to a candidate for federal office./addressaddress(b) As used in this section, “felony” means a conviction in any jurisdiction for which the convicted person might have been imprisoned for more than one (1) year. However, the term does not include a conviction:/addressaddress(1) for which the person has been pardoned; or/addressaddress(2) that has been:/addressaddress(A) reversed;/addressaddress(B) vacated;/addressaddress(C) set aside; or/addressaddress(D) not entered because the trial court did not accept the person’s guilty plea./address/blockquote