Ingram sues election board after being removed from ballot

MUNCIE, Ind. − City Councilman Troy A. Ingram is suing the Delaware County Election Board, claiming fellow Republicans acted to kick him off the primary ballot because he too often sides with Democrats on council rather than for his failure to completely fill out his CAN-42 candidate filing form.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Delaware Circuit Court 4, which is presided over by Judge John M. Feick, asks that Ingram's name be restored to the Republican primary ballot. Late in the day Friday, Judge Feick recused himself from the case involving local government officials. That means a new judge would have to be appointed within seven days, according to County Clerk Rick Spangler, who is also a defendant in the lawsuit.

Spangler said since he learned of the lawsuit he has stepped back from any work regarding the ballots. At any rate, the candidate lists are now in the hands of the ballot makers

"My list of candidates and offices they are running for has been submitted to MicroVote, the company that builds our ballot," Spanglert said.

The Republican ballot submitted does not have Ingram's name and the time available to change that would be short. The first day of early voting in the primary is April 4. Should attorneys for the two sides not be able to agree on an available judge to hear the case, Spangler said, it would be up the county clerk's office to pick a judge.

If that happens, Spangler said, he would again stay out of the matter and allow his staff to handle it − since he is a defendant in the case.

Ingram's complaint said he was wrongly taken off the ballot because local Republican Party leaders don't like the way he votes on council.

"Many times Ingram would vote with Democrats on various issues before the Council and that would upset the local Republican Party leadership," the councilman's complaint said. "As a result ... the Delaware County Election Board (which is controlled by the local Republican Party) and certain leaders within the local Republican Party have deprived Ingram of his constitutional right to be placed on the ballot to seek re-election to the Muncie City Council."

The complaint names the election board as well as two of its members as defendants: Spangler and local attorney Peter Drumm, who is the Republican representative on the board appointed the county GOP chairman. Spangler, while a board member by virtue of being county clerk, is also a Republican. But he was not present for the meeting in which Ingram was removed from the ballot. Local attorney Brandon Murphy stood in as Spangler's proxy and voted with Drumm to remove Ingram.

More:Ingram and Miller bounced from GOP primary ballot due to filing errors

Not directly named as a defendant is Ashley Nichols, the Democratic representative on the election board. She voted to keep Ingram on the ballot and cited instances in prior years when the election board overlooked failure to initial lines on a CAN-42 candidacy form, a point made in Ingram's complaint.

DeWayne Richmond, who has made runs for local office as a Republicam, contested Ingram candidacy to the election board.

Ingram failed to fill out the candidate certification section of the form, according to a copy of his paperwork presented at the Election Board meeting about the complaint. The section includes five statements the candidate is asked to initial and two questions the candidate is asked to answer by checking a box. The section was dated and signed by Ingram.

Murphy said during the meeting, before the vote, that state election officials have held in the past that the election board should deny a filing that does not have the candidate certification properly filled out.

According to the complaint, an official of the clerk's office told Ingram she would make sure his paperwork was in order but never told Ingram there was a problem.

"Plaintiff believed that his declaration was timely and appropriately filed," the complaint said.

Ingram, an at-large member, was not the only sitting Republican council member removed from the ballot at the Feb. 17th meeting. Isaac Miller, who represents District 4, was removed because he failed to file a CAN-42 but instead filed a CAN-2, which was a candidacy form used in 2022 elections.

Drumm argued that it made no difference because a CAN 42 and a CAN 2 contain identical information nut Murphy and Nichols voted to remove Miller from the ballot. Democratic County Chairman Ana Quirk Hunter had challenged Miller's candidacy.

David Penticuff is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at dpenticuff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ingram sues election board asking to be returned to GOP primary ballot