The Indiana Recount Commission has granted manual recounts in three Republican legislative primary races from the May 2026 election, with pre-recount inspections set to begin as early as this week, according to orders issued May 26.
Recount Director Evan M. Norris, acting under authority delegated by the Commission in Order 2026-8, signed orders granting verified petitions in Senate District 23, Senate District 15, and House District 57. In all three cases, Norris found the petitions timely filed, compliant with Indiana Code 3-12-11-3, accompanied by the required cash deposit, and properly served.
The Senate District 23 recount, sought by petitioner Paula K. Copenhaver against Republican nominee Sen. Spencer R. Deery, will be the first out of the gate. The pre-recount inspection begins May 27 at the Vermillion County Courthouse and rolls through a six-county schedule covering Warren, Montgomery, Fountain, Tippecanoe, and Parke counties, with a potential second Tippecanoe day on June 3 if needed. William Bock represents Copenhaver; Samantha Dewester represents Deery.
In Senate District 15, petitioner Darren Vogt is seeking a recount against Sen. Liz Brown. The pre-recount inspection is scheduled for June 11 at the Allen County Election Board, 1 E. Main Street, Fort Wayne, with a June 12 continuation if necessary. James J. Ammeen, Jr. represents Vogt; Joshua Claybourn represents Brown.
The House District 57 petition was filed by Greg (No Bull) Knott against three respondents — Wesley Ray Bennett, Robert Eugene Stiles, and Tina M. Turner. That pre-recount inspection begins June 15 at 1900 E. Main Street in Danville, covering precincts in Hendricks, Johnson, and Morgan counties. None of the HD57 parties appear to have counsel of record on the face of the order.
In both the SD23 and SD15 orders, Norris took the petitioners’ separate Petitions for Contest under advisement, finding only that they were timely filed and declining to act on the contest proceedings as part of these orders. The Knott petition in HD57 was for a recount only.
The orders direct that manual recounts of all votes cast within the precincts identified in each petition be conducted under Indiana Code Title 3 and the Commission’s Guidelines for Conduct of an Election Recount and Contest. Copies were sent to the Indiana State Police, the State Board of Accounts, and each affected county election board.
Recounts in legislative primaries are unusual but not unprecedented in Indiana, and the simultaneous granting of three in a single cycle — two of them against sitting senators — underscores how narrow several Republican primaries were on May 5. Contest proceedings, where the petitioners are essentially asking the Commission to look beyond the ballot count, remain pending in the two Senate races and could extend these matters well beyond the recount itself.
