Indiana Lawsuit Challenges Parties’ Right To Keep Candidates Off The Ballot

A recent change in Indiana state law has given county party chairmen increased power to decide who may appear on their party’s primary ballot. This has been challenged in court by a state representative candidate, Amy Rainey, who was denied a spot on the Republican primary ballot for 2022. Her case was brought before a trial court in Indianapolis and eventually to the Indiana Court of Appeals, which heard the arguments last week.

Under the new law, candidates must be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican party to appear on the primary ballot. Candidates who have not voted in two Indiana primaries must have their party membership certified by their county party chairman. The law affects not just voters who have switched parties but also those who have recently moved to the state or turned 18 and have not had the opportunity to vote in two Indiana primaries yet.

Rainey claimed that she met the requirements under the new law by voting in the 2012 Republican primary before leaving the state for several years. She subsequently voted in the 2016 Republican primary in South Carolina when she was living there. However, she missed the 2018 and 2020 Indiana primaries because of last-minute work travel and a cancer diagnosis. To resolve this, she needed her county party chairman to certify her party membership but was challenged by the incumbent, State Rep. Joanna King. Rainey’s opponent won by default after her name was left off the primary ballot, and the trial court and Court of Appeals both denied her petition.

The restrictive ballot access law has faced numerous challenges across the US, with five of the ten Republican candidates in Michigan’s governor race being denied a place on the ballot due to fraudulent signatures on their nominating petitions. The Alabama GOP also removed four of its candidates from the primary ballot for previous involvement with other political parties. The new law has also influenced the competitiveness of Indiana’s primaries, leading to fewer candidates and potentially lower voter turnout.