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Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Ind. Courts - More on Muncie mayoral election contest

"Republicans today will try to convince a judge to dismiss a lawsuit seeking a special election in Precinct 46' was how a report in the Jan. 23rd Muncie Star-Press began.

Today a story in the Star-Press by Nick Werner begins:

MUNCIE -- Indiana State Police on Tuesday morning confiscated boxes of election materials in connection with an ongoing investigation into last November's mayoral race.

The boxes were moved from the Delaware County Building into a van.
Sgt. Darrell Thornburg, an ISP investigator, would not comment on exactly what authorities confiscated and where they were taking it, referring those questions to Delaware County Prosecutor Mark McKinney.

Efforts to reach McKinney for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.

McKinney announced last week he was launching a joint investigation into the election with Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter, the Indiana Secretary of State's office and state police.

Both political parties have accused each other of wrongdoing in connection with the election, which saw Republican Sharon McShurley declared the winner at the end of recount proceedings in December. Her Democratic opponent, James Mansfield, had earlier been certified as the race's winner.

The majority of allegations, however, have centered around Democratic City Council member Monte Murphy, who Republicans have accused of illegally collecting absentee ballots in Precinct 18.

Also today, Nick Werner reports:
MUNCIE -- Democrats Monday lost a legal battle to get a special election in Precinct 46, where a problem with absentee ballots cost Jim Mansfield the mayor's race.

Special Judge Joel Roberts of Jay County dismissed a lawsuit by Democrats on the basis that Democrats missed a statutory deadline to file for a special election.

The decision, according to Republicans, essentially ends the election debate and seals Republican candidate Sharon McShurley's fate as the rightful mayor of Muncie.
McShurley took office Jan. 1.

Democrat attorney Mike Quirk, however, argued he would continue to fight to get Mansfield in office.

The judge's ruling left open an opportunity for Democrats to make changes to their lawsuit and file it with the court one more time, Quirk said.

"I don't want to get into too much detail," Quirk said. "I don't want to tip my hand to anybody. But it's not over." * * *

Democrats filed a petition Dec. 27 with Delaware Circuit Court 5 seeking a special election in Precinct 46, to determine the true winner of the mayor's race.

According to Indiana law, only a losing candidate can file a petition for a special election and must do so no later than 14 days after the original election.

Muncie Democrats argued the statutory deadline did not apply in this case because Mansfield was originally certified the election winner, precluding him from filing the special election petition in a timely manner.

Roberts disagreed with Democrats argument, noting that courts have consistently required strict compliance with the statutory requirements in the cases of special elections.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 6, 2008 12:23 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts