Editorial: Upholding the principle that 'elections belong to the people'

Last month, a Marion County judge ruled that an Indiana election law preventing Republican John Rust from running in May's Republican U.S. Senate primary — the same statute that was at the center of last year's controversy in a South Bend Common Council primary race — is unconstitutional.

The statute in question requires a person seeking to run in a political party's primary to either have voted in that party’s past two primary elections or get approval to run from their county party chair. “‘Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision,’” says the court ruling from Marion County Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Dietrick, quoting President Abraham Lincoln. “It is with this purpose in mind that the court renders its decision.”

Rust filed the lawsuit against Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales, the Indiana Election Commission and the chairwoman of the Jackson County Republican Party in September.

We criticized the law in an editorial last year, noting that it unfairly allows someone else other than voters to make a determination about a person's candidacy.

One of the findings in Dietrick’s ruling is that the statute violates the 17th Amendment, which says the people elect U.S. senators. The law took effect Jan. 1, 2022, part of a number of election reforms proposed by four Republican state lawmakers.

Locally, the statute appeared to block Bruce Mitchell from running for the 6th District seat on the Common Council in last year's Democratic primary. Mitchell, despite not meeting the two-primary requirement and failing to get approval to run from the county Democratic Party chair, was later allowed on the ballot by the St. Joseph County Election Board. He was defeated in November by the incumbent.

More: South Bend common council candidate allowed on Dems primary ballot despite new state law

But as we said in our earlier comment, our objection to the law and the way it was being applied wasn't an endorsement or defense of any particular candidate. It was the principle of fairness that we were defending and our belief that the voters, not a gatekeeper, should make such decisions about candidates. And we would similarly defend this principle with other prospective candidates, whether it was Mitchell or Kevin Conery, who sought to run in the Republican St. Joseph County Commissioner primary race in 2022. He later ran as an independent.

We're aware of the current fight over putting President Trump on the primary ballot. That's a separate constitutional question. And no matter where you stand on alleged insurrectionists on the ballot, it seems clear that the idea of giving more gatekeeping power to party insiders is undemocratic.

The judge's ruling does not give Rust immediate ballot access, as other requirements must be met for him to qualify as a candidate. But it does give him a fair shot at getting his name on the primary ballot. That opportunity — and the idea espoused by Honest Abe that "Elections belong to the people" — is something that you might think we would all agree is the right thing for voters and the state of Indiana.

But apparently not: Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a notice of appeal, requesting the Indiana Supreme Court step in.

Editorials represent the opinion of the Tribune Editorial Board. Its members are Audience Engagement Editor Alesia I. Redding, Enterprise Editor Cory Havens and Executive Editor Ismail Turay Jr.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Ruling upholds the principle of fairness