The attorney for five Democratic candidates told the St. Joseph County Election Board on Friday morning that the board should sustain the challenges against his clients. The board kept all five off the ballot.
“Yes, we failed to file the CAN-31s,” said James Groves, the attorney representing all five Democrats. “From a technical standpoint, the board probably should, as the statute uses the word shall, should sustain the objection.”
St. Joseph County Republican Party Chair Jackie Horvath brought the challenges against Autumn Kaylor, a candidate for county auditor, Dan Caruso and Marcy Kauffman, both candidates for at-large seats on the New Carlisle Town Council, Christy Donlon, a candidate for Walkerton Town Council in Ward 2, and Ron DeWinter, a candidate for the Penn Township Board. None had run in the May primary. All five were appointed by St. Joseph County’s Democratic Party Chairman Don Westerhausen to fill vacancies on the party’s general election ticket.
When a county chairman appoints someone to fill a vacancy on a local ballot, three forms go to the clerk’s office. Two of them come from the candidate.
- The CAN-29, the certificate of candidate selection, is filed by the party chairman. It names the candidate, the office, and certifies the appointment.
- The CAN-31, the declaration of candidacy and written consent, is signed by the candidate. It is the only document where the candidate personally agrees to be placed on the ballot.
- The CAN-12, the statement of economic interests, is also the candidate’s, listing employers, business interests, and a spouse’s employment.
Westerhausen signed a CAN-29 for four of the five in June, ahead of the July 6 deadline. He signed Caruso’s and Donlon’s on June 15, DeWinter’s on June 17, and Kauffman’s on June 24. The county’s public copy of Kaylor’s CAN-29 did not include the reverse page, where the chairman signs, so the date Westerhausen executed hers is not known at this time.
Caruso, Donlon, DeWinter, and Kauffman each filed a CAN-12 in June, before the deadline. Kaylor’s is dated July 29, more than three weeks after the deadline.
No CAN-31 was filed for any of the five. That is the form Horvath’s challenge is built on, and the one the Democrats’ attorney, James Groves, admitted the Democrats did not file.
The absence of that form matters because of what the missing form does. Under Indiana Code 3-13-1-14, an appointment to fill a ballot vacancy is not effective unless the candidate’s written consent form (CAN-31) is filed no later than the certificate naming that candidate (CAN-29). The CAN-29 is the chairman’s document, and nothing on it comes from the candidate. Each of the five CAN-29s carries the same line, printed in boldface on the front of the form: “The written consent of this person to the nomination has previously been filed with this office or is attached (CAN-31 form). The candidate’s statement of economic interests is attached.”
Horvath with her attorney, Tom Dixon, testified to the missing consent forms and to Kaylor’s statement of economic interests submitted after the deadline. She raised a second argument as well. A provision the Indiana General Assembly added last year, effective July 1, 2025, which ends a county chairman’s authority to fill ballot vacancies at the next election for that party’s precinct committeemen. St Joseph County Democrats elected precinct committeemen on May 5, 2026. The four appointments with a documented date were made in June, after the May 5 primary. Horvath argued that Westerhausen’s authority to make the appointments had already expired.
Westerhausen’s expired authority came from the county party’s reorganization meeting on March 1, 2025. Minutes of that meeting, attached to each CAN-29, record that Westerhausen was elected chairman and then asked for a motion authorizing the chair to fill ballot vacancies. It passed on a voice vote.
Groves told the board the Democratic party would call a caucus once the vacancies existed, and said a general election without a Democratic or Libertarian name would leave voters “kinda like Russia with only one choice.” Board member John Jurgonski answered that the state gives anyone ample opportunity to run and also noted that these candidates were not on the primary ballot. “Our state legislature has set the laws forth,” he said. Horvath’s attorney, Tom Dixon, said in rebuttal to Groves that other law would bar a caucus at this date, and called the question not ripe.
Westerhausen told the board that “Democrats believe in democracy and allowing voters choices.” He added, “Obviously, the Republican Party does not.” He said the party will refile under state law. Dixon told the board that state law would not permit it this late in the calendar year.
Logan Foster
Logan Foster is the founder and editor of Redress South Bend, an independent news outlet covering local government, courts, and public institutions in South Bend and St. Joseph County, Indiana. He reports from primary documents: public records requests, court filings, state audit reports, and campaign finance disclosures. His reporting has examined city and school district payments made without competitive bidding, school board spending, and the records of candidates in county races. Redress South Bend obtained the South Bend Police Department's ShotSpotter coverage map after the department initially denied public access. The outlet is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Online News Association. Reach him at info@redresssouthbend.com
