Judge rules voting card unfair to Democratic party

INDIANAPOLIS -- Marion County officials must redesign and print an entirely new ballot before the Nov. 4 election, a judge ruled Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by Democrats who objected to the voting card's design.\nSenior Judge James Harris ruled that candidates must be grouped by party rather than by office -- the opposite of a ballot design that had been proposed and used in previous elections.\nThe ruling by Harris, a Republican, could have statewide implications because many other counties that use optical-scan voting technology have laid out ballots the same way.\nHarris also struck down a new Republican Party symbol that carried the words "The A Team" as part of the logo.\nFor the nearly 600,000 regular ballots that must be printed, the judge said the ballot card must comply "substantially with a party-column format."\nThe two Republicans on the three-member county election board voted afterward to appeal the ruling, but continue with preparations for the ballot changes.\nCounty Clerk Doris Ann Sadler said she was concerned there might not be enough time to comply with the judge's orders and hold the election on time. Printing alone could take up to two weeks.\nHarris said he did not share that concern.\n"I'm convinced that they can get the job done," he said.\nThe decision to appeal came against the advice of GOP mayoral candidate Greg Jordan, who said he disagreed with the decision, but believed that an appeal was an unnecessary cost to taxpayers.\n"The decision defies good old common sense," Jordan said. "It creates more confusion than clarity.\nDemocratic leaders, meanwhile, said county election officials should concentrate on work for the November election.\n"From the beginning, the clear intent of the proposed ballot was to confuse voters and slant the election toward one party," said Ed Treacy, the Marion County Democratic chairman. "Any delays that happen now are solely the result of partisanship or incompetence"