When you sign a form in front of a notary, you’re swearing it’s true. Don Westerhausen, chairman of the St. Joseph County Democratic Party, did it four times in June. Each time, he certified the form was “true and complete.”
None of them were.
The forms were certificates putting Democrats on the November ballot in races where no Democrat had run in the May primary. Line 4 of each one says the candidate’s written consent to run “has previously been filed with this office or is attached.”
It hadn’t been filed.
It wasn’t attached.
Not one of the five candidates Westerhausen appointed filed a consent form.
The consent form is two pages long. Without it, Indiana law says a party’s pick for an empty ballot spot “is not effective.”
Line 4 also promised that each candidate’s financial disclosure was attached. On the certificate for Dan Caruso, who wanted a seat on the New Carlisle Town Council, it wasn’t. The clerk’s office stamped the certificate Monday, June 15. Caruso’s disclosure arrived Thursday, June 18.
Westerhausen swore to one more thing. Each certificate has a box where the chairman states where his authority came from. On the certificates for Caruso, Marcy Kauffman, and Christy Donlon, a Walkerton Town Council candidate, Westerhausen checked the box for a party meeting and wrote in March 1, 2025.
That was the day the precinct officers elected him chairman. Before they adjourned, they gave him the power to fill ballot vacancies by a voice vote. The minutes didn’t record the count.
The law puts an end date on that kind of power. An authorization like his “expires at the time of the next election for precinct committeemen” for the chairman’s party. Democrats held that election on May 5, 2026.
The state didn’t leave that to interpretation. In its May newsletter to county election officials, the Indiana Election Division spelled it out: “Don’t forget! The D Party resolutions will expire on May 5, 2026, due to a recent change in state law.” Parties could renew them.
Westerhausen’s June certificates don’t cite a renewal. They cite March 1, 2025. Six weeks after his authority expired, he swore he still had it.
The same newsletter listed what a direct-appointment packet needed: the CAN-31, the CAN-12, the CAN-29, and a copy of the resolution or minutes. On the June certificate for Autumn Kaylor, his candidate for county auditor, Westerhausen checked the meeting box and left the date blank.
On August 3, the county Republican chair challenged all five candidates. On August 21, the county election board took up the challenges, and the Democrats’ own lawyer threw in the towel. “Yes, we failed to file the CAN-31s,” James Groves said. He then told the board that “from a technical standpoint,” it “probably should, as the statute uses the word shall, should sustain the objection.”
That is a lawyer telling a board to rule against his own clients. The board obliged.
Westerhausen told the board his candidates had asked the clerk’s staff whether their paperwork was in order and were told yes.
After that vote, Westerhausen found a new target. “Democrats believe in democracy and allowing voters choices,” he said. “Obviously, the Republican Party does not.”
The Republican Party did not sign those certificates. It did not swear the consent forms were attached. Westerhausen did both.
Five days later, the party’s precinct chairs and vice chairs voted to renew his power. Their resolution says it passed with “a majority of the precinct and vice precinct committee chairs present.” It doesn’t say how many were present.
On August 28, he refiled four of the five candidates. This time, the consent forms were attached.
When the four names didn’t appear on the September 2 ballot proofs, the party blamed the clerk. It started a petition, asking supporters for money for a legal defense fund.
Westerhausen sued. In court, his lawyers argued the clerk’s office has no business second-guessing a candidate’s filing. In August, he had blamed that same office for not second-guessing his candidates’ filings and catching their mistakes.
Westerhausen wants it both ways.
On September 17, St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jenny Pitts Manier ruled for Westerhausen and ordered the four candidates onto the ballot.
She got it wrong.
Her order says Westerhausen “had the authority” to fill the first vacancies. It never mentions IC 3-13-1-6.5, the law that says his authority expired on May 5. It never mentions the state’s warning that his authority was expiring.
Then she refused to order the records that would test his second authorization: who showed up on August 26 and how they voted. She called the request a “diversionary excursion.”
The court let his authority stand without seeing the records that would show who granted it.
Westerhausen’s authority in March came from a voice vote with no recorded count. Westerhausen’s authority in August has no recorded count either.
The June certificates are still posted on the county’s website. Donlon’s carries Westerhausen’s signature under the words “true and complete.” Line 4 still says her consent was attached.
It never was.
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
