Election officials prepare for recounts in 3 Indiana House races

INDIANAPOLIS -- Election officials met Friday to prepare for as many as three recounts in closely contested Indiana House races.\nThe Indiana Recount Commission also gave the Marion County Election Board approval to take steps needed to get results from 520 voting machines that enable people with disabilities to cast votes in private. Because of a software glitch, local election officials were unable to obtain results from the machines on election night Tuesday.\nTechnicians must open up the machines and use a special card so the vote totals will print out. Those totals could prove crucial in the House District 97 race between incumbent Rep. Ed Mahern, D-Indianapolis, and Republican challenger Jon Elrod. It is one of the races that could result in a recount.\nAccording to unofficial results tabulated by The Associated Press, Elrod was ahead by 65 votes -- 4,387 to Mahern's 4,322.\nThe Election Board also granted a request to have voting machines and data secured in anticipation of recounts in districts where results have shown two House Republican incumbents with slim margins.\nThe request was made by William Bock, an attorney representing Rep. Don Lehe, R-Brookston, in District 15 in northwestern Indiana, and Rep. Timothy Harris, R-Marion, in eastern Indiana's District 21.\nAP results showed Lehe up by 26 votes, 8,749 to 8,723 for Democrat Myron Sutton, with all precincts reporting. Harris was ahead of Democrat Larry Hile by 16 votes, 7,392 to 7,376, with all precincts reporting.\nHile already has said that he would request a recount, and state Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said a recount request would likely be made in the Lehe-Sutton race and the Mahern race if final results showed him losing by a slim margin.\nRegardless of how any of the races turn out, House Democrats locked in at least a 51-49 majority Tuesday. Republicans went into the election with a 52-48 advantage.\nSecretary of State Todd Rokita said no recount requests have been made so far, but he wanted the recount commission to meet and review procedures "to make sure the commission was ready."\nRokita -- a Republican -- is chairman of three-member commission by virtue of his office. The other two members are former state GOP Chairman Gordon Durnil and Democrat Ed Delaney, an Indianapolis attorney.