A provisional ballot accepted Monday in Montgomery County further tightened the already razor-thin Republican primary race for Indiana Senate District 23.
Montgomery County Clerk and Election Board Secretary Sondra Sixberry told the county election board that a woman and her husband, both lifelong Indiana residents, had moved to Montgomery County more than a year ago. After changing their address and updating their driver’s licenses, the couple registered to vote in the county.
Sixberry said the woman’s voter registration card was later returned to the clerk’s office, while her husband’s was not. When the couple went to vote on Election Day, the woman’s name was not found in the system. However, Sixberry said she was able to provide documentation showing she had registered to vote and proof of residency, allowing her to cast a provisional ballot.
The Montgomery County Election Board voted Monday to accept the ballot.
Board member Phil Boots hesitated before ultimately voting in favor of counting the ballot after board chairman Virginia Servies voted to accept it. Boots said the voter should have been more responsible in making sure she had received her voter registration card ahead of the election.
The accepted ballot adds another vote to challenger Paula Copenhaver in the closely contested Senate District 23 Republican primary against incumbent Sen. Spencer Deery.
Earlier Monday, election officials in Fountain County reviewed six provisional ballots and approved two for counting while rejecting four others. Officials also approved one mail-in ballot that had initially been considered provisional.
The Fountain County review added three votes to the race total, with two votes going to Copenhaver and one to Deery, narrowing Deery’s lead from four votes to three before Montgomery County’s provisional ballot review.
The Senate District 23 contest remains one of the closest races in Indiana’s May 5 primary election. Provisional ballots across the district’s six counties are still being finalized before counties certify election results later this month.
