Ballot shortage in Indiana
Marion County [Indiana] election officials are trying to determine why 45 voting precincts ran out of Republican primary election ballots late Tuesday afternoon, and if it will have any effect on close races.
Some voters, either unable or unwilling to wait, left before they were able to cast their ballots, and several thousand extra ballots that were printed in an attempt to make up for the shortfall came too late for some, RTV6 reported.
Early indications Wednesday were that there would be no legal recourse for the losing side in a race, because voters weren't turned away from the polls -- they left by their own choice, RTV6's Norman Cox reported. Officials said if the voters had waited, they would have been able to vote eventually.
Two of the precincts that were affected by the shortage were in Senate District 36, where incumbent Sen. Larry Borst appeared to lose to Brent Waltz by 49 votes. -- Politics - Ballot Shortage May Be Settled Through Legal Means (TheIndyChannel.com)
Comments
It's up to 70 precincts (of 900), and suggestions some places also ran out of Dem ballots.
The clerk's office didn't seem to realize turnout is higher in areas with contested elections. The county parties have a slating convention before the primary, and the slated candidate almost always wins, so there are few contested races.
One of my clients hotly contested a school board race in lawrence township, contributing to this situation, although he lost by a large enough margin there won't be a recount. I disagree that there would be no legal recourse, if it were shown the outcome of the election was changed.
Posted by: arbitraryaardvark | May 5, 2004 11:51 PM