Ballot review set in southern Indiana county amid tight race for state Senate’s top Republican

Democrats are raising concerns about the vote count in southern Indiana’s Clark County, where the state Senate’s top Republican has a narrow lead in unofficial tallies.

Questions about possible differences between the number of ballots cast and those counted could roil the tight race between Republican Sen. Chris Garten and Democratic challenger Nick Marshall.

Garten said Monday that he expected his lead to stand and referred to the ballot doubts as “politically motivated speculation.”

Preliminary results posted by the Indiana Election Division show Garten leading by 297 votes, or about ⅔ of a percentage point — with 21,817 to 21,520 for Marshall. Libertarian Larry Mahaney had 993 votes.

Garten is ahead with 49.2% of the vote — the closest of the 25 state Senate elections across the state.

The tight margin comes as Republican senators have picked Garten to become the chamber’s new president pro tem — and Democrats gained at least five seats in last week’s election to narrow the GOP Senate majority to an apparent 35-15 for next year’s legislative session.

Democrats question ‘discrepancies’ at polling sites

The Clark County Election Board is scheduled to meet Tuesday evening to “count the physical ballots cast” for four precincts that voted at Jeffersonville High School, according to the board’s meeting notice.

“The Board will count only the number of physical ballots,” the movie said. “No votes for any candidate, office, or public question will be counted or tallied.”

Clark County Democratic Chair Miguel Hampton said Monday he was seeking answers about reported problems with computer tablets used to check in voters, a ballot machine jamming and possible procedural mistakes at the high school and other voting locations on Election Day.

The high school polling site is among the county’s busiest and is in a typically strong Democratic area, Hampton said.

“I’m not trying to be an alarmist,” Hampton told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “I don’t know whether this changes the trajectory of the actual voting population. I can’t tell you that, but what I can tell you is that at least three locations there were discrepancies, and we asked about them.”

Balloting troubles could also impact a tight county auditor race, Hampton said. The Republican candidate was leading by about 250 votes, according to preliminary tallies.

Republican official believes actions appropriate

Clark County Clerk Ryan Lynch did not immediately reply Monday to a phone message seeking comment. Lynch, a Republican, is a member of the county election board and was unopposed for reelection this fall.

Clark County Republican Chair Fannie Broxon said a ballot machine jammed at the high school voting site on Election Day and was replaced. She said the election board’s ballot count was intended to ensure a correct tally.

“I don’t think it’s going to make one vote difference whenever they do that,” Broxon said. “I feel that it was handled appropriately and that that will come out Tuesday evening.”

Garten, who is seeking his third term representing Senate District 45, said in a written statement that he had “confidence in our election officials, confidence in the integrity of the process.”

“Hoosier voters deserve transparency, accountability, and facts — not politically motivated speculation intended to cast doubt on an election without credible evidence,” Garten said.

Garten poised to take Senate’s top post

The Senate is expected to vote during its Nov. 17 Organization Day on formally electing Garten as president pro tem. He would replace Sen. Rodric Bray who decided to step down after drawing the wrath of President Donald Trump over his opposition to last year’s proposed congressional redistricting.

Garten’s tight race comes in the same election that saw Republican House Speaker Todd Huston unseated in his reelection bid.

Marshall received about 38% of the vote when he ran against Garten four years ago.

Marshall referred questions about the ballot issues to Democratic Party officials, telling the Capital Chronicle that “we are letting democracy and process take place.”

Candidates have until Nov. 17 to file recount petitions, with party officials facing a Nov. 20 deadline.

All of Clark County is in Senate District 45, along with a portion of Floyd County. Votes from Clark County make up 87% of those included in preliminary tallies for the district.