Republicans eye updating law that imperils Todd Young campaign
The possibility that U.S. Rep. Todd Young failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the U.S. Senate race is prompting calls to change how candidates qualify for the ballot in Indiana.
Rep. Jeff Ellington, R-Bloomington, said Thursday he plans to introduce legislation next year to reduce the number of signatures candidates must gather to get on the primary ballot.
“Here we are in February, and voters and candidates have to endure a costly legal battle and quasi-recount before the candidates even get past the primary election in May,” Ellington said in a news release Thursday. “It’s not what Hoosiers want. Getting on the ballot for governor and U.S. senator needs to be a bit easier and less cumbersome for candidates of any party."
Candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and president must gather 500 signatures from registered voters in each of Indiana's nine congressional districts. The Indiana Democratic Party is challenging Young's candidacy, saying he gathered fewer than 500 signatures in the 1st Congressional District, a heavily Democratic area that includes Lake, Porter and part of LaPorte counties.
An independent count of the signatures by IndyStar found only 497 certified signatures.
Young's campaign has dismissed the challenge as a political stunt.
Ellington said current law deters candidates who don't have a funding network or name recognition. Qualifying for office should not be tied to those things, he said.
"The signature law was designed years ago by both parties to create hurdles for candidates, even those in the two major parties, many of them legitimate contenders," he said. "The 4,500-signature requirement places a burden on the democratic process."
The signature requirement makes Indiana "one of the most difficult states in the country" for getting on the primary ballot, said Richard Winger, publisher of the California-based Ballot Access News.
Only five states require more signatures than Indiana, according to information Winger compiled. Most states don't require any signatures, relying instead on filing fees that range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Ellington, who said he is neutral in the Republican primary race between Young and U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, said it's too late in this year's legislative session to address the issue. But he plans to file a bill next year that would reduce the number of required signatures from 500 to 200 in each congressional district.
Senate leader David Long, who supports Stutzman, said that if Young failed to gather enough signatures, "it's one of the most colossal mistakes I’ve ever seen."
"I’m not sure it serves its purpose anymore," he said of Indiana's 4,500-signature signature requirement. "Certainly looking at this (situation) and its kind of stunning potential, it makes you wonder if maybe we ought to reconsider how we allow our people to become eligible for the ballot."
But that sentiment isn't universal among Republicans, nor is it shared by Democrats.
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said he doesn't think the requirement needs to be changed.
"I don’t think it’s too high a hurdle," he said, "but you need to be sure you beat the hurdle."
County clerks initially told the Indiana secretary of state that the Young campaign had 501 valid signatures in the 1st District. But when Democrats and, later, members of the media counted the signatures, they found fewer than 500.
Bosma suggested the Young campaign shouldn't have cut it so close. Many candidates collect double the number of required signatures to make sure they have enough registered voters to qualify.
"I was a little surprised when I heard there was only 501 certified signatures originally," Bosma said. "That’s cutting it way too close for most candidates."
House Minority Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said Indiana's current law is reasonable and keeps frivolous candidates off the ballot.
"It exists because you want to ensure the candidates standing for very high office have some degree of credibility and have some degree of organization to be able to wage a campaign," he said. "If somebody’s going to run for U.S. Senate, honestly I think they ought to have their act together."
Young's campaign has disputed the challenge, saying it gathered 650 signatures in the district.
"Indiana Democrats know they can't beat Todd Young in an election, so they are making a desperate attempt to keep him off the ballot by disenfranchising the Hoosier voters who put him there," Young's campaign manager, Trevor Foughty, said. "We are confident that at the end of this process, the Election Commission will reject the blatantly political gamesmanship of the Indiana Democrat Party."
The Indiana Election Commission is expected to take up the issue at its Feb. 19 meeting. The commission is made up of two Republicans and two Democrats. A tie vote would allow Young to stay on the ballot.
Challenges such as the one Young is facing have produced varying results in the past.
Jim Wallace, a Republican who wanted to run against now-Gov. Mike Pence in the 2012 primary, was removed from the ballot for not having enough signatures.
But others — including presidential candidates Rick Santorum in 2012 and John McCain in 2008 — successfully beat back such challenges.
Santorum was several signatures short but successfully argued that some signatures that had not been certified in Marion County should have been counted.
Young's team is likely to make a similar argument.
If Democrats can knock Young off the ballot, the only Republican seeking the nomination would be Stutzman, who Democrats think their candidate, former U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, would have an easier time defeating in the general election.
Stutzman, a Republican from Howe, is tea party favorite and has the backing of conservative groups, such as the Club for Growth, which supported Republican Richard Mourdock’s unsuccessful 2012 Senate campaign.
While not ceding the conservative label to Stutzman, Young — who represents Indiana's 9th District from his home in Bloomington — has been running as a “responsible” conservative who can get things done.
Both are hoping to replace GOP Sen. Dan Coats, who is not seeking re-election.
Stutzman released a statement Thursday criticizing his primary opponent.
"Todd Young must accept responsibility for his own campaign and drop the accusations of partisan politics," he said. "If Todd has more than 500 signatures, he should be on the ballot, but if reliable Indiana media sources are correct and he has failed to meet the minimum number of signatures required to be a candidate for the United States Senate, then the rule of law must be followed.”
The primary election is May 3.
Star Washington correspondent Maureen Groppe contributed to this story.
Call IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.
Indiana Democrats to challenge Republican Todd Young's ballot access in Senate race