Judge rules in favor of St. Joseph County Democrats in ballot dispute

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- A St. Joseph County judge has ruled in favor of the St. Joseph County Democratic Party in a lawsuit challenging the county election board’s decision to keep several Democratic candidates off the November general election ballot.

The lawsuit stemmed from a dispute over candidate filing paperwork and whether the election board had the authority to remove the candidates from the ballot after an earlier challenge.

The dispute began Aug. 21, when the St. Joseph County Election Board upheld challenges to Democratic candidates who had not filed a CAN-31. Five Democratic candidates were initially affected by the challenges.

St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chairman Donald Westerhausen said the candidates later corrected the missing paperwork. According to Westerhausen, the candidates’ filings were accepted by the county clerk’s office Aug. 28.

“Indiana law specifically states that a party has the ability to place new candidates or those same candidates on the ballot within thirty days,” Westerhausen says. “That’s what we did.”

Westerhausen said he later discovered the candidates were not appearing on the ballots. The election board subsequently met and ordered the candidates to remain off the ballot.

The Democratic Party challenged that decision in court, arguing the election board did not have the authority to remove the replacement candidates through that process.

The lawsuit also showed that the election board made its decision outside of a properly noticed public meeting, raising concerns under Indiana’s Open Door Law.

“What they did which was incredibly corrupt,” Westerhausen says.

The court ultimately ruled that four Democratic candidates should be returned to the November ballot: Autumn Kaylor for Auditor, Marcy Kauffman for New Carlisle Town Council, Dan Caruso for New Carlisle Town Council and Christy Donlon for Walkerton Town Council.

Westerhausen criticized the election board's handling of the dispute, saying the matter could have been resolved without litigation.

“I was sad because this didn’t have to happen this way,” Westerhausen says.

Westerhausen also described the situation as a setback for bipartisan cooperation in St. Joseph County.

The ruling means the four Democratic candidates will appear on the ballot for the November general election.