The chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party’s 8th District said Tuesday night that he failed to file the paperwork required to place Vincennes Mayor Joe Yochum on the November ballot as the Democratic candidate for Indiana Senate District 39.
“As the Chair of the caucus that met to put Mayor Yochum on the ballot for state Senate District 39, I misunderstood my responsibility to file the final form within five days of the caucus,” Dave Crooks said in a statement to Indy Politics. “I am extremely sorry voters in District 39 will not have the opportunity to vote for Joe. I greatly appreciate Joe and Susan for their willingness to serve Hoosiers beyond Indiana’s first City.”
Crooks’ statement is the first time anyone has publicly claimed responsibility for the error, and it locates the failure with a district party official rather than with the state party in Indianapolis.
Yochum announced earlier Tuesday that he would not appear on the ballot, attributing the problem to “a procedural error made by the Indiana Democratic Party” and directing questions to the state party’s Indianapolis office.
Yochum was selected at a ballot vacancy caucus held July 23 at the Washington City Council chambers, after Vincennes Democrat Joseph Baughman, who was unopposed in the May primary, withdrew from the race.
Filling a state legislative ballot vacancy requires a CAN-28, the certificate of candidate selection prescribed under Indiana Code 3-13-1-5 and 3-13-1-15. The form must be filed with the Indiana Election Division no later than noon three days after the candidate is selected, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. For a caucus held on a Thursday, that deadline fell at noon on Tuesday, July 28. The certificate must include the candidate’s information and the certification of the caucus chair, and Indiana Code 3-13-1-14 requires that a file-stamped statement of economic interests be attached.
Crooks described the deadline as five days.
Accounts also differ on whether any form was submitted. Yochum’s statement says the certificate “should have included” his registration information and the caucus chair’s signature. The Vincennes Sun-Commercial reported Tuesday that a form was filed but did not contain those items. Crooks’ statement refers to his responsibility to file the form, without saying whether one was submitted.
Neither the Indiana Election Division nor the Indiana Election Commission has publicly announced a determination in the race. Questions about the validity of a certificate of candidate selection issued under Indiana Code 3-13-1-15 are determined by the Election Commission upon the filing of a sworn statement, under Indiana Code 3-8-1-2. The commission has two Republican and two Democratic members.
The Republican nominee in Senate District 39 is former state Rep. Jeff Ellington of Bloomfield, who won a three-way May primary with 46 percent over Kristi Risk and Tanner Bouchie. Ellington was endorsed by President Donald Trump following last year’s failed mid-decade redistricting push.
