Lawmakers Contemplate Moving Deadline To Replace Candidates On Ballot

Replacing candidates on the ballot could get easier as lawmakers contemplate pushing back a key deadline. 

In the wake of an ethics scandal, Cicero Republican Representative Eric Turner announced he is leaving the Statehouse to work for an Atlanta-based Christian organization.  But Turner is up for reelection and his name can’t be replaced on the ballot because the announcement took place after July 15.  If he beats Democratic challenger Bob Ashley this fall, GOP precinct committeemen will elect Turner’s replacement. 

Julia Vaughn, policy director for Common Cause Indiana, says the Turner situation is an affront to voters.

“It diminishes their role in the election process," she says. "The job of electing their representatives should be in the hands of voters, not a handful of precinct committeepeople after the fact.”

House Speaker Brian Bosma says the legislature will take what he calls a “hard look” at the current deadline to replace candidates.  House Minority Leader Scott Pelath says he welcomes a change but notes it has to be done carefully.

“You know, you also can’t just have a bunch of last minute changes either when people think campaigns are pointing one direction, then they get changed on them at the last minute,” Pelath says.

Zionsville Republican Representative Steve Braun faces a similar issue this year, though he’s leaving to head the state Department of Workforce Development and is unopposed in November’s election.