“We’ve gotta get moving on that,” says state rep on convention center project, given threat of tax sunset

The Monroe Convention Center expansion project needs to make some progress, state representative Democrat Rep. Matt Pierce (District 61) said at a Friday luncheon hosted by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce at The Mill.

Looming during this year’s legislative session is a threat to the project’s planned funding source, which is the county’s 1-percent food and beverage tax. The threat cited by Pierce is Senate Bill 37, which has already been filed by Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill (District 25).

If SB 37 is passed, it would end food and beverage taxes across all counties in the state 20 years from now, on Jan. 1, 2043, or the date on which all bonds or lease agreements that are outstanding on May 7, 2023, are completely paid—whichever is later.

Pierce summed up the stalled effort of Bloomington and Monroe County government to collaborate on the convention center expansion like this: “We gotta get moving on that.”

Pierce was joined at the event by three other area state legislators: Sen. Eric Koch (District 44); Sen. Shelli Yoder (District 40); and Rep. Dave Hall (District 62).

Pierce’s comment on the convention center expansion came in response to a question from chamber CEO and president Eric Spoonmore.

The other three legislators didn’t comment on Spoonmore’s food and beverage tax question. Continue reading ““We’ve gotta get moving on that,” says state rep on convention center project, given threat of tax sunset” →

Recount confirms Dodds for Benton Township board, election finally over in Monroe County

Benton Township board recount certificate.

From left: Judge Erik Allen, and recount commissioners Bob White, WIlliam Ellis, and Fred Turner.

Recount commissioner Fred Turner.

From left: Dave Hall, Cory Ray, Fred Turner, Bob White, William Ellis.

From left: Recount commissioners Bob White and William Ellis.

Recount commissioner William Ellis.

Republican Jake Dodds has been confirmed as winning one of the three seats on the Benton Township board in Monroe County, Indiana.

The result of a manual recount of the ballots, which concluded Thursday morning around 11 a.m., provided a 3-vote margin for Dodds over fourth-place finisher, Democrat Hans Kelson.

Before the provisional ballots were adjudicated on Nov. 18—that’s 10 days after the Nov. 8 Election Day—Dodds was up by 6 votes over Kelson. Dodds had 621 votes compared to 615 for Kelson.

The adjudication of the provisional ballots added 2 more votes to Kelson’s total. That reduced the margin to 4 votes—621 to 617. That’s when Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry filed a petition requesting a manual recount.

After the manual recount, Dodds had one fewer vote and Kelson had the same number, leaving a 3-vote gap.

That means the Benton Township board that’s sworn into office on Jan. 1, 2023 will consist of Dodds, and Democrats Sean McInerney and Joseph Husk. The Benton Township trustee’s election was won by Democrat Michelle Bright over Republican Josh Dodds.

Judge Erik Allen out of Greene County oversaw the recount work. On Thursday, after the recount commissioners had completed their work at Monroe County’s Election Central, Allen told them: “I observed the process from beginning to end, and I have full confidence in the job that was completed.”

Allen added, “I think you’ve been very diligent and I appreciate your work and certainly have full confidence in the result.” Continue reading “Recount confirms Dodds for Benton Township board, election finally over in Monroe County” →

Election recount paused for Benton Township board as winter storm hits Midwest

Recount commissioner Fred Turner is sworn in.

Recount commissioner Bob White is sworn in.

Recount commissioner William Ellis is sworn in.

Recount commissioner William Ellis reviews a disputed ballot with a magnifier.

Judge Erik Allen swears in the recount commissioners.

2022-12-22 benton recount PXL_20221222_195718502

Monroe County’s Election Central on Dec. 22, 2022.

Republican Jake Dodds will have to wait until after Christmas for confirmation of his election to one of the three seats on the Benton Township board in Monroe County, Indiana.

The three-member recount commission that is conducting a manual review of the ballots got started at 9 a.m. on Thursday, but was not able to complete the work by the end of the day.

The margin for Dodds over fourth-place finisher Hans Kelson was 4 votes.

They will pick back up in a week, on Dec. 29. The election took place on Nov. 8.

The recount commission’s work day was shortened by a winter storm that led the Monroe County government to send workers home at 3 p.m. Continue reading “Election recount paused for Benton Township board as winter storm hits Midwest” →

Recount confirms Hall as winner over Githens in state house District 62

Room 404 at the Indiana state house, where the recount commission met on Dec. 20, 2022.

From left: Left to right: Bradley King, co-counsel for the recount commission; Republican Party appointee Mark Wynn; secretary of state Holli Sullivan; Democratic Party appointee Michael Claytor; and Mathew Kochevar, co-counsel for the recount commission.

Recount commission co-counsel Matthew Kochevar.

Democratic Party appointee to the recount commission Michael Claytor holds aloft a ballot for review.

Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry.

Samantha Dewester, legal counsel for Dave Hall

Secretary of state Holli Sullivan.

Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry (standing) with Penny Githens.

Indiana state police first sergeant Brad Stille shows there’s nothing left in the ballot envelope that he just sliced open.

Indiana state police first sergeant Brad Stille hands over the ballot envelopes to general counsel for the state board of accounts, Kendra Leatherman.

Around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Indiana’s recount commission confirmed Republican Dave Hall as the winner of the election for District 62 state house over Democrat Penny Githens.

The final recounted tally was:

Penny Githens (D): 12,963
Dave Hall (R): 13,037

That’s a plurality of 74 for Hall.

The original tally was:

Penny Githens (D): 12,950
Dave Hall (R): 12,990

That was a plurality of 40 for Hall.

This brief has been updated with more detail below. Continue reading “Recount confirms Hall as winner over Githens in state house District 62” →

Manual recounting of ballots completed for District 62 state house, final results next week

Recount director Philip Sicuso (Dec. 14, 2022)

From left: Dee Owens, watcher for Penny Githens, and SBOA chief of staff Jennifer Gauger. (Dec. 14, 2022)

From left: Monroe County election board member Donovan Garletts, Monroe County election supervisor Karen Wheeler, and Jackson County clerk-elect Amanda Lowery. (Dec. 14, 2022)

(Dec. 14, 2022)

From left: Penny Githens, Dee Owens, and Susan Luther. (Dec. 14, 2022)

Election Central in Monroe County at 7th and Madison streets in Bloomington. (Dec. 14, 2022)

Recount activity in Monroe County at Election Central. (Dec. 14, 2022)

By around 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, the recounting activity in Monroe County for the District 62 state house race between Republican Dave Hall and Democrat Penny Githens was completed.

That wrapped up the recounting for all of District 62, which also includes precincts in Brown and Jackson counties.

Recounting in Monroe County took place at Election Central in the old Johnson’s Hardware building at 7th and Madison streets.

The results of the recount won’t be finalized until the state recount commission meets next week.

The final certified tally of votes, before the recount, gave Hall 12,990 votes, which was 40 more than Democrat Penny Githens received.

Recount director Philip Sicuso told The B Square that the meeting has not yet been noticed to the public, but the recount commission plans to convene at 9 a.m. next Tuesday (Dec. 20) at the statehouse in Indianapolis. That’s the deadline for completion of the recount. Continue reading “Manual recounting of ballots completed for District 62 state house, final results next week” →

District 62 state house election update: Manual recounting of ballots now underway

(Election Central Monroe County Dec. 13, 2022)

Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry points to candidate Penny Githens’s computer screen as they review challenged ballots from Jackson and Brown counties.

Deputy recount director Andrew Norris. (Election Central Monroe County Dec. 13, 2022)

(Election Central Monroe County Dec. 13, 2022)

The slogan on the mug reads: “I am an auditor. To save time let’s just assume I’m always right.” (Election Central Monroe County Dec. 13, 2022)

Arriving around 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Monroe County’s Election Central, was the team from Indiana’s state board of accounts (SBOA) that is conducting the manual recounting of ballots in Indiana’s District 62 state house race.

The race was won by Republican Dave Hall, who had a certified tally of 12,990 votes. That was 40 more than Democrat Penny Githens received. The request for the recount was filed by Monroe County Party chair David Henry.

The recounting of Monroe County’s ballots got a good start on Tuesday, but will last at least another day.

Recounting activity on Tuesday lasted until around 6 p.m. The work of reviewing each paper ballot with human hands and eyeballs will continue on Wednesday morning in Monroe County starting around 8 a.m.

In Monroe County, the recount work is not expected to be completed until Thursday morning. But there’s an outside chance the work could wrap up by late Wednesday, according to deputy recount director Andrew Norris. Continue reading “District 62 state house election update: Manual recounting of ballots now underway” →

Ballots in Monroe County get sorted to prep for District 62 state house recount next Wednesday

Monroe County Election Central (Dec. 9, 2022)

Seated is Monroe County deputy clerk Tressia Martin. Others shown in this photgraph are state board of accounts (SBOA) staff. Monroe County Election Central (Dec. 9, 2022)

At 8 a.m. on Friday, a dozen staff from Indiana’s state board of accounts (SBOA) and some state police officers arrived at Monroe County’s Election Central at 7th and Madison streets in downtown Bloomington.

The SBOA staff’s job for the day was to sort the ballots from the Nov. 8 election into piles—one pile for each of the 29 Monroe County precincts that is a part of state house District 62.

The sorting comes in preparation for the recounting of ballots in the race, which was won by Republican Dave Hall, who had a certified tally of 12,990 votes. That was 40 more than Democrat Penny Githens received. The request for the recount was filed by Monroe County Party chair David Henry.

In Monroe County, the recounting itself is now expected to start around noon on Wednesday (Dec. 14) next week. That will come whenever the recounting is complete in Jackson and Brown counties—which are the other two counties with some precincts included in District 62.

In Monroe County, the piles of ballots for District 62 should total 18,737—that’s 18,517 cast ballots for the race, plus 220 undervoted ballots.

Sorting the ballots into piles by precinct is not a quick task. Continue reading “Ballots in Monroe County get sorted to prep for District 62 state house recount next Wednesday” →

District 62 election update: Pre-recount visit done, sorting this week, followed by recounting next week

From left: Matthew Kochevar, David Henry, Bradley King, Phil Sicuso. (Dec. 7, 2023)

Monroe County election supervisor Karen Wheeler. (Dec. 7, 2023)

Monroe County Election Central meeting for pre-recount review. (Dec. 7, 2023)

From left: Karen Wheeler, David Henry, Matthew Kochevar, Cory Ray, Phil Sicuso. (Dec. 7, 2023)

From left: Cory Ray and Phil Sicuso. (Dec. 7, 2023)

On Wednesday, a group of state officials and interested parties to Indiana’s state house District 62 recount process made the rounds to the three affected counties, to complete the pre-recount procedures.

The race in District 62, which includes areas in Monroe, Brown and Jackson counties, was won by Republican Dave Hall, who had a certified tally of 12,990 votes. That was 40 more than Democrat Penny Githens received.

Election Day was Nov. 8.

On Wednesday, recount director Philip Sicuso indicated that some additional sorting and preparation would take place through the rest of this week. The recounting activity itself is to start next week (Dec. 12).

The recounting in Monroe County is not expected to start until 8 a.m. Wednesday morning (Dec. 14), Sicuso said. Continue reading “District 62 election update: Pre-recount visit done, sorting this week, followed by recounting next week” →

Standard procedure: Ballots impounded by Indiana State Police for House District 62 recount

By around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, two state police sergeants had appeared at Monroe County’s Election Central at Madison and 7th streets—to secure the ballots and voting equipment that were used for the Nov. 8 general election.

Indiana state police first sergeant Brad Stille. (Nov. 29, 2022)

It’s the standard process that is used under state election law, when a recount of ballots is requested.

The recount in question is for the District 62 state house race, which was requested the day before, on Monday, by the Monroe County Democratic Party (MCDP).

The race was won by Republican Dave Hall, who had a certified tally of 12,990 votes, which was 40 more than Democrat Penny Githens.

The impoundment order, from recount director Philip Sicuso acting on behalf of the state’s recount commission, was served by first sergeants Dana Miller and Brad Stille with the Indiana State Police. Continue reading “Standard procedure: Ballots impounded by Indiana State Police for House District 62 recount” →

Recount for 40-vote margin: Monroe County Dems to ask for hand re-tally in Hall-Githens District 62 race

The Monroe County Democratic Party will petition the Indiana state election division for a recount of votes in the state house representative District 62 race, which was won by Republican Dave Hall over Democrat Penny Githens.

Left: Penny Githens (D). Right: Dave Hall (R). In these photos, they were giving stump speeches at a candidate event hosted by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce held on Oct. 3, 2022.

That’s according to a news release issued by the MCDP on Monday morning.

The news release cites the 40-vote margin as the reason for the recount request.

MCDP chair David Henry is quoted in the release saying, “In such extremely close races, a recount is simply about exercising our candidate’s rights under the law, and crossing every t, and dotting every i.”

The procedure for election recounts in the state of Indiana is spelled out in three places: state election law; the state recount commission’s recount procedure manual; and the procedures manual for the state board of accounts.

Under state law, the deadline for a county party to petition for a recount is 17 days after the election, which translates this year to Monday (Nov. 28), due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Barring botched paperwork or failure to hit deadlines, state law indicates that the state recount commission has to order a recount. Continue reading “Recount for 40-vote margin: Monroe County Dems to ask for hand re-tally in Hall-Githens District 62 race” →