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Delaware County mistakenly adds candidate to ballot that isn’t running

Voters in two of Delaware County's 98 precincts choose the Union Township trustee.
Voters in two of Delaware County's 98 precincts choose the Union Township trustee.

The Delaware County clerk’s office is correcting fall election ballots in two precincts, because they include a person who never filed to run. 

Current Union Township trustee Vickie Walburn of Eaton was elected four years ago.  Now, she’s told local media that she’s 76 years old and doesn’t want another term as trustee.  That’s why she didn’t apply to run again.

But Walburn still appeared on this fall’s ballot.  When she pointed it out to county clerk Rick Spangler, he says the mistake came from his office.

“We use a series of templates when we rebuild each election.  In this template, somehow through the process, this Vickie Walburn did not get taken off.”

Spangler is working with MicroVote to correct paper ballots and reprogram voting machines to remove Walburn’s name.  He says between 35 and 50 people voting early and by absentee ballot saw the mistake.

Indiana Voter Guide: Being an Informed Voter

Spangler says MicroVote tells him any votes Walburn might get will not show in election results, since she is not a legitimate candidate.

Only one candidate actually filed to be the next Union Township trustee – Republican Donald Chambers, Jr.

Ethan Sandweiss is a multimedia journalist for Indiana Public Media. He has previously worked with KBOO News as an anchor, producer, and reporter. Sandweiss was raised in Bloomington and graduated from Reed College with a degree in History.