Boone County Commissioner and Clerk spar over election process

Apr. 5—Boone County Clerk Lisa Bruder and Commissioner Tim Beyer sparred again Monday over the county's election system.

Commissioners conducted a regular meeting Monday morning, approving a bridge fund and learning which county roads are closed for construction.

They were ready to adjourn a quick meeting when voter Dave Myers of Zionsville stood and asked when his public records request of more than a month ago would be fulfilled.

Myers and others who advocate for the county's return to one-day, in-person elections with paper ballots had previously asked commissioners for all contracts that involve federal money and the county's elections.

The commissioners' executive administrator said she pulled all meeting minutes that mention such records and was beginning to find the corresponding contracts. Myers sat down, seemingly satisfied.

But Beyer asked to recap the paper ballot supporter's position and the logic behind it. He presented slides he previously showed commissioners and the Boone County Election Board illustrating the power and rights of the people vs. the power of government.

Beyer and others believe the county's electronic voting machines are unconstitutional and vulnerable to fraud. They also believe the state's election process is unconstitutional and that it was also unconstitutional for the local election board to boot several Republican candidates for county offices off the May primary election ballot because they did not meet the state's two-primary rule for candidacy.

And, they believe elected officials have a duty to uphold the constitution and correct the election process.

But the Indiana Supreme Court recently upheld the two-primary rule. And the election board determined in January that the Indiana Constitution grants authority of elections to election boards and that county commissioners have no legal authority in that arena.

Paper ballot advocates asked commissioners in January to seize control of the county's election process after the election board refused their demands. Commissioners declined.

The election board also determined, in part, that no one has suggested the county's voting machines had been hacked or that fraud has taken place.

"Paper is a solution proposed to a problem that does not exist," Boone County Election Board Vice Chairman Brian Jones said at the time.

Bruder and her staff conduct local elections. They register candidates, send out mail-in ballots, collect and sort them when they are returned, handle voter registration, manage the voting machines, and more.

Bruder is in the thick of a presidential election. Wednesday was the deadline for voter registration. Early voting began Thursday at the courthouse. And the election is May 2.

Then, voter registration and the rest of the process begins again for the Nov. 7 general election.

She thought the discussion of paper ballots and election constitutionality were behind her.

And she asked Beyer, pointing a finger at him, why he continued to press the issues when they have already been decided. Beyer still thinks Indiana's election system is unconstitutional and wanted to present his evidence to support that position, he said.

"Why was the process okay when you got elected, but it isn't now?" Bruder asked Beyer.

He said "the people" brought the issues to the attention of commissioners after he was elected. "We didn't know then," he said. "But now we know."

Beyer and other supporters of paper ballots have spoken and made demands at commissioners' meetings for months, despite commissioners having no power over elections. Also, Commissioner President Don Lawson and Commissioner Jeff Wolfe have said they will not intervene in the process.

Bruder asked commissioners Monday to bar discussions about the constitutionality of local elections until after the 2024 election. That would allow her to focus on her job without the distraction of sitting through commissioners' meetings to repeatedly defend the process against accusations.

Conversation between Bruder and Beyer had become quite heated at that point. Lawson raised his voice to interrupt and said commissioners will not bar the public from speaking at public meetings. He asked Bruder to sit down, which she did.