After monitoring the ballot petition reports provided by the Indiana Election Commission for each candidate, the IDP noticed Young had 501 validated signatures, exactly one more than the number required by state law, Zody said at a press conference Wednesday.
“When someone is that close to the minimum, we count it,” Zody said during the press conference.
After filing an open records request, the IDP recounted Young’s signatures and found him to be short two certified signatures across the district, Zody said.
“We believe that our candidates need to make sure they get the minimum and the signatures necessary to run for this office,” Zody said. “I’m filing the petition because it’s important we hold our candidates accountable and make sure they are meeting the state law.”
Young’s campaign disputes these claims. Their office could not be reached for comment at the time of print, but released statements in press releases.
“The Democrats are playing dirty politics,” Young said in a press release. “Why? They are scared to face me in November.”
In the 2010 election, Young beat democrat Baron Hill, who is also running for Senate, and won a seat in Indiana’s 9th district for the House of Representatives.
Young’s press release cites this as the reason the IDP is “trying to disenfranchise the Hoosier voters.”
“While politicians play games, Marines fight — and the Indiana Democrat Party just picked a fight with the wrong Marine,” Young said in a press release.
Zody argued against the claim of voter disenfranchisement during the press conference.
“We would never try to disenfranchise a voter,” Zody said. “We are the Democratic Party who works to expand voting rights every day, every year and every election cycle. This is about whether a candidate met the minimum number of signatures required by state law and that’s it and that’s all.”
The Indiana election division will hear Zody’s challenge Feb. 19, with all other challenges.
Lindsay Moore
