INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Supreme Court declared Sen. Spencer Deery the winner of the May 5 Republican primary Thursday, reversing a recount commission decision that had briefly unseated him.
The high court’s ruling centered on whether election officials have the discretion to count ballots missing certain legal requirements. The disputed ballots lacked the county clerk’s signature and seal, or initials from both a Republican and a Democratic election judge.
The court applied the “Savings Clause,” a legal provision allowing officials to count ballots that might otherwise be disqualified because of an election officer’s mistake. Deery originally won the primary
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