Overview
- The Indiana Recount Commission, which met Monday, invalidated ten absentee ballots and certified Paula Copenhaver as the winner over incumbent Spencer Deery by three votes, 6,332 to 6,329.
- Election officials excluded the ballots because they lacked required authentication under state law, specifically the county clerk’s signature or the required election‑judge initials.
- Deery has announced he will appeal the commission’s decision to the Indiana Court of Appeals and accused the panel of treating ballots differently based on political outcomes.
- The recount is the latest in a coordinated effort of Trump‑endorsed primary challenges that has unseated multiple Indiana Republicans who opposed a Trump‑backed redistricting plan, bringing the tally to seven of eight targeted incumbents defeated.
- The commission denied Copenhaver’s requests for subpoenas of county election officials and access to the federal SAVE database during the recount, and the final status of the seat and any redistricting votes will depend on the pending court review.