The Indiana Recount Commission will take up a stack of competing motions on July 28 in the disputed Republican primary for Senate District 23, where state Sen. Spencer Deery holds a three-vote lead over challenger Paula Copenhaver.
Recount Director Evan Norris, a Zionsville attorney, has scheduled the hearing for 9 a.m. at the State Government Center in Indianapolis. Norris will present the report on the ballot recount before the two sides argue the discovery motions now pending before the commission.
A hand recount of ballots across the district’s six counties wrapped up June 25. The preliminary results did not change the outcome, leaving Deery ahead of Copenhaver 6,337 to 6,334 in the May 5 primary.
Copenhaver, the Fountain County Republican chair, filed her petition for a recount and election contest May 18. Represented by Indianapolis firm Kroger, Gardis & Regas — attorneys Bill Bock, Ted Nolting and Sarah Pfister — she has since filed a series of motions. They include a request to subpoena and depose about a dozen people who indicated on social media or to reporters that they pulled Republican ballots despite typically voting Democratic; a request to subpoena the Tippecanoe County clerk and staff over an absentee ballot; an objection to a vote added to Deery’s Parke County total after the election; and a request to check district voters against the federal SAVE citizenship database. On July 1, Bock filed a motion asking the commission to decide early whether the crossover voters violated state election law.
Deery, the West Lafayette incumbent targeted by President Donald Trump after voting against congressional redistricting, has filed five responses through attorney Samantha DeWester. He is asking the commission to dismiss the contest portion of Copenhaver’s petition, arguing it rests on social-media speculation rather than specific facts. He also opposes the voter depositions — seeking a protective order to shield voters — and opposes the Tippecanoe subpoenas and the SAVE request. On the Parke County vote, Deery argues the county board timely counted the ballot and later corrected a transmission error before the recount deadline. Deery has separately moved to depose Copenhaver.
Crossover voting is at the center of the dispute. Indiana does not register voters by party, and Deery’s filings contend that pulling an opposing party’s primary ballot is not illegal and cannot be challenged after Election Day.
The three-member commission is chaired by Republican Secretary of State Diego Morales, with Republican Paul Mullin and Democrat Michael Claytor. Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, has called on Morales to recuse himself, citing his ties to Turning Point USA, which endorsed Copenhaver.
Norris has asked the commission to defer a final determination on the disputed ballots until the discovery questions are resolved. A decision in the race — one of three contested GOP legislative primaries the commission is reviewing — could be delayed further if the subpoenas are granted.
