SOUTH BEND, Ind. — St. Joseph County Clerk Amy Rolfes issued a public statement to defend her elections office after Elections and Voter Registration Clerk Kimberly Riskovitch faced extended questioning during a Feb. 25th election board hearing involving ballot challenges to Republican county council candidate Dan Schaetzle and Republican delegate candidate Amy Drake.
In Schaetzle’s case, attorneys argued whether a party determination that Schaetzle was “not in good standing” barred him from appearing on the Republican primary ballot. The board voted 3-0 to deny that challenge and allowed Schaetzle to remain on the ballot.
In Drake’s case, a challenger argued Drake filed for the wrong Republican state convention delegate district. Under oath, Drake acknowledged that she listed the incorrect district on her CAN-37 and confirmed she did not use the available lookup tool to verify her district before filing. The board voted 3-0 to remove Drake from the delegate ballot.
During both proceedings, Riskovitch was questioned about how filings are processed by the clerk’s office.
In the Schaetzle matter, Riskovitch testified that Schaetzle initiated a clerical correction before the filing deadline by emailing the clerk’s office. Riskovitch confirmed the edit was entered after Schaetzle’s request, that he was not present when it was made, and that no new notarization followed.
In the Drake matter, Riskovitch stated that the clerk’s office only reviews filings for completeness, ensuring required sections and signatures are present, but staff does not independently verify whether a candidate selected the correct district. Eligibility questions are resolved by the election board when formally challenged.
As the questioning broadened, board member Jason Cichowicz cautioned that “this board certainly doesn’t run the clerk’s office,” adding that concerns about staff conduct “are not this board’s purview.” The question before the board, he said, was whether the candidates’ filings complied with state law.
While the board issued its decisions during the hearing, the questions directed at the clerk’s office continued afterward.
The following day, Rolfes released a video statement responding to what she described as implications raised during the hearing and in text messages sent afterward. Rolfes said it had been suggested that Riskovitch “plays favorites with candidates,” “denies ballot access for candidates,” and “gets in the way of free and fair elections.” She called those implications “ridiculous.” Rolfes also said disparaging comments about the clerk’s office were later repeated in text messages claiming “the clerk’s office is a mess.”
Rolfes said Riskovitch has worked in elections in St. Joseph County for nearly 20 years and described her as a subject matter expert who “would never do anything to compromise an election.” She also cited national voter education recognition, a perfect post-election audit score and more than $150,000 in election security grants secured by the office.
Rolfes drew a clear line between administrative processing and ballot eligibility decisions. Filing procedures are handled by staff. Ballot determinations are made by the board.
Logan Foster
Logan Foster founded Redress South Bend and reports on local government and public records in South Bend and St. Joseph County. He is 31 years old and is majoring in finance. He is a Cleveland sports fan and a longtime season ticket holder of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
