Indiana recount changes winner in three-vote state Senate primary

The Indiana Recount Commission has changed the apparent winner of the Republican primary for Senate District 23, moving Paula Copenhaver from a three-vote loss to a three-vote lead over incumbent Sen. Spencer Deery.

The commission’s August 10, 2026, decision declared Copenhaver the winner of the recount. But Deery’s attorney, Samantha DeWester, said she was preparing an appeal, so the next official step for the November ballot remains important to voters in the district.

How three votes became a six-vote reversal

The original certified result showed Deery with 6,337 votes and Copenhaver with 6,334, according to reporting by Indiana Public Radio. The recount commission removed eight votes from Deery’s total and two from Copenhaver’s.

That produced a recount tally with Copenhaver three votes ahead. The six-vote swing changed the apparent winner without changing the basic closeness of the contest.

Senate District 23 includes all precincts in Fountain, Parke, Vermillion and Warren counties. It also includes Brown, Coal Creek, Ripley and Wayne townships in Montgomery County, plus Jackson, Randolph, Shelby, Union, Wabash and Wayne townships in Tippecanoe County. The district includes West Lafayette, where Deery is based.

Why absentee ballots were disputed

The central arguments involved technical requirements for particular absentee ballots, including seals and signatures attributed to election officials or county clerks. The dispute did not concern every absentee ballot cast in the district.

Copenhaver attorney William Bock argued that some ballots did not carry the required circuit-court seal or signature and should not count. He also argued that the unusually narrow margin required strict attention to the formal standards governing absentee ballots.

DeWester argued that voters should not lose their votes because a clerk or other election official failed to place a signature or stamp on a ballot. Her position was that voters cannot reasonably be expected to know which official markings must be completed after a ballot is submitted.

The proceeding did not establish that the disputed ballots were fraudulent or tampered with. The commission was deciding whether particular ballots met Indiana’s requirements for counting, not finding that voters had engaged in fraud.

Social-media crossover claims were not enough

Copenhaver’s campaign also alleged that some Democratic voters crossed over to vote in the Republican primary. The commission considered claims involving individual ballots, but it did not treat social-media statements alone as sufficient grounds to reject those votes.

That distinction matters because the crossover allegations remained campaign claims rather than established findings by the commission.

Tippecanoe ballots remained in the count

In Tippecanoe County, Bock alleged that County Clerk Julie Roush mishandled several absentee ballots. Roush called the allegations uninformed.

The commission approved the disputed Tippecanoe ballots discussed during the hearing. Those ballots therefore remained in the count, even as the commission rejected or adjusted other disputed votes elsewhere in the district.

What happens next

DeWester said Deery’s legal team was preparing an appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals. The available reporting and commission records reviewed for this article do not establish whether an appeal has been formally filed or whether a court has issued a stay.

The commission’s earlier Order 2026-9 found Copenhaver’s verified recount and contest petition timely and compliant as to the recount proceeding. Later commission records separately stated that no further action was being taken on the requested contest proceeding in that order. The recount commission’s action was an election-administration decision, not a court ruling.

Indiana’s general election is scheduled for November 3, 2026. Copenhaver is the recount commission’s declared winner, but voters in Senate District 23 should check the Indiana Election Division’s candidate and ballot records for any later certification, appeal or court action before assuming the Republican nominee is settled.

Sources

• Indiana Public Radio: Recount declares new winner in Indiana Senate District 23
• Indiana Secretary of State: Indiana Recount Commission

Look for updates to this story

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