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St. Joseph County election board suspends, disbands committees and orders notices for unfiled campaign reports
Summary
At a meeting, the St. Joseph County Election Board approved motions to disband or suspend four candidate committees, and directed staff to notify parties on a larger list of unfiled campaign reports and begin fines under Indiana statute if reports are not filed within five days.
St. Joseph County Election Board members at a meeting approved motions to disband or suspend four candidate committees and to notify committees that have failed to file required campaign finance reports, with certified letters and potential fines to follow.
The board voted to disband the committee of Amanda Mitchell (Commissioner, District 3) and to expand the committee to elect Mark Crude; it also voted to suspend the campaign committees for Patricia Jordan, M.D., and for Mike McGann (both for coroner). Those committee actions carried after motions and aye votes.
The meeting’s central policy discussion concerned a longer list of committees that had not filed annual campaign finance reports. The election board’s chair said, “I would like Kim to send those directly to both the party chairs, so that they have them in addition to posting them outside of the clerk's office.” A board member argued many committees may be uninformed about reporting obligations: “I didn't collect any money. I didn't spend any money, so I don't have to do anything.”
County staff clarified reporting rules for campaign committees. A staff member told the board, “They can close it, which is what you guys went over for the 4 additional ones this meeting. But these are people who chose not to close it and keep their committee open. They may be underneath an assumption that since they're no longer running and they're not raising any more funds, that it automatically closes. That is not the case.”
The board voted to have the office send certified letters to every committee on the unfiled list, direct staff (identified as Mr. Jones) to issue the notices, have Kim send the list to both party chairs, and to begin assessing fines under Indiana Code 3-9-4-17(c) if committees fail to file. Under the procedure adopted at the meeting, committees will have five days after receiving notice to file; the statute directs fines of $50 per day up to $1,000 until a committee complies.
Board members recorded unanimous “aye” votes on the motions. The board did not record individual roll-call vote names in the minutes for the actions taken; the minutes reflect that all members were present at roll call and that each motion carried after an aye vote.
The board also approved the prior meeting minutes and adjourned with no public comment. Members said they will revisit outstanding items, including the status of bills and the contract on voting machines, at a future meeting.
