GOP control hopes dwindle

INDIANAPOLIS -- Republican hopes of gaining control of the Indiana House dimmed somewhat Monday as a state panel certified a Democratic victory for Rep. Win Moses Jr. in a contested election result.\nA recount is scheduled to begin Tuesday in the only other disputed House race, where current results have Democrat David Orentlicher defeating Republican Jim Atterholt by 36 votes.\nThat outcome would preserve Democrats' 51-49 majority in the House. If Republicans gain a 50th seat, they could control the chamber through a tie-breaking law enacted in 1995.\nWith little discussion, the three-member Indiana State Recount Commission unanimously certified results in Moses' re-election bid in House District 81 of Fort Wayne. The recount gave Moses a 63-vote margin over Republican Matt Kelty -- 4,718 to 4,655 -- with Kelty picking up just one additional vote in the Nov. 25 recount.\nOnly three ballots were disputed during the day, and an early challenge of results in two precincts was dropped. State Board of Accounts auditors spent nine hours reviewing poll books and absentee ballots from the Nov. 5 election. Afterward, Kelty conceded the election.\nRepublican county chairmen requested recounts in that race and in the Orentlicher-Atterholt contest in House District 86, covering parts of Hamilton and Marion counties.\nThe Board of Accounts has set aside three days beginning Tuesday for the recount in District 86, where Orentlicher apparently defeated Atterholt, the Republican incumbent, after an expensive campaign that featured several negative television commercials.\nThe recount commission is scheduled to meet Friday to consider the recount.\nOn Monday, the panel approved a Republican request to turn over photocopies of disputed ballots and absentee ballot applications to both sides in the Orentlicher-Atterholt race. Typically, the sides have access to digital photos of disputed ballots.\nMark Colucci, an attorney representing Atterholt supporters, said having the copies would leave both sides in better position to review the ballots for any discrepancies.\nOrentlicher's attorney, Larry Reuben, urged the panel to reject the request, saying copying of ballots in such circumstances was unprecedented in Indiana.\nCopying the ballots also could prove expensive and put an additional burden on the Board of Accounts, potentially prolonging the recount, Reuben said.