May 23—GOSHEN — It could be months before a true Republican primary winner in the District 49 state representative race is certified.
Thursday morning, the Elkhart County Board of Elections held an emergency meeting at the County Administration Building to discuss the recount in the District 49 race, tabulate military and overseas ballots, tabulate mail-in ballots due on primary Election Day, 7 May, had arrived, and make decisions on the provisional ballots cast. A petition for a recount was filed on May 15 by District 49 candidate Cindy Hajicek, and on May 15 at 5 p.m., a seizure warrant was issued, indicating that Indiana State Police had removed all ballots and voting equipment used in the primary election. would seize and secure.
“We don’t have access to anything,” Anderson said at the meeting, which was originally scheduled for 8 a.m. and later moved to 11:45 a.m.
In the primaries, incumbent Joanna King received 3,805 votes (65%), to Hajicek’s 2,047 (35%).
Hajicek was present at the meeting, as were Wayne Kramer and Jennifer Shell, election board representatives for Elkhart County’s Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, and Carol Smith, chief elections delegate for the county.
“It’s very disturbing,” Shell said of the potential disenfranchisement of voters from the recount situation.
What was in the table at the time of the May 7 primary will be told. The petition Hajicek filed did not specify specifics, and recount petitions must be filed by a specific date. The certification of the vote was at noon on Monday and today is the deadline for the County Election Board to make the required corrections to the number of votes cast.
Anderson estimates the recount could take several months.
Steve Wilson is news editor for The Goshen News. You can reach him at steve.wilson@goshennews.com.
