Brown County ballots for the Nov. 5 general election, some of which have been mailed to absentee voters, failed to list an unopposed race for an Indiana Senate seat, County Clerk Pearletta Banks said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
The statement reads as follows:
“The Brown County Election Board, on September 30, 2024, determined the ballots for the November 5, 2024, General Election already printed and some already delivered to Mail In Absentee Voters contain an error, that in the opinion of the Board is immaterial but, nonetheless, could create confusion at the polls during Absentee In Person Early Voting and at the polls on Election Day.
“Senator Eric Koch, (R), Indiana Senate District 44 is running unopposed for re-election. His race is missing from the defective ballots. Absentee voters receiving an absentee ballot postmarked qualifying October 1, 2024 or earlier, received a ballot that does not include the Indiana Senate 44 race. All ballots recast by mail-in Absentee Voters will be counted in any event, unless delivered in exchange for a corrected ballot.
“Absentee voters holding a ballot postmarked on or before October 1, 2024, or having already voted and who wish to cancel their non-conforming ballot and receive a conforming ballot, may call the Clerk’s office at (812) 988-5510.
“NOTE: the missing Indiana Senate District 44 race is uncontested. The incumbent, Eric Koch, (R), is running unopposed. That Senate district includes all or parts of the following counties: Brown, Jackson, Lawrence, Monroe and Orange. This notice affects only Brown County. Therefore, except for the possibility of confusion at the polls, the Board considers the defect immaterial.”
