A former Republican congressional candidate in Indiana has been arrested for stealing ballots.
During a test of voting machines on Oct. 3 at the Madison County Government Center, election officials found that three ballots were missing.
Test ballots are identical to official ballots. They can be put through a scanner at a polling station to cast a real vote. These test ballots must be sealed, retained and disposed of following a test of voting machines, according to Indiana law.
Officials at the testing event also told attendees “they are live election ballots.”
Surveillance video showed Larry Savage, 51, a precinct committeeman, folding and placing ballots in his pocket.
When the vote came up short, Savage could be heard whispering to Katherine Callahan, a former Republican Madison County auditor candidate, and stating, “Fucked up count,” according to Huffpost.
He later joined Callahan Facebook’s livestream, commenting “3 ballots short!!! lol” and “Dontvtake [sic] anything” after one user commented “the cheating has started.”
Savage allegedly texted Callahan later that day, saying, “I had 3, how can they be one short?”
A search warrant was issued and Savage’s home was subsequently searched, police said, adding that officers found the missing ballots in his car.
Savage reportedly told officers he “wasn’t trying to steal from nobody”.
He has been charged with destroying or misplacing a ballot, and theft. He was released on $500 bond.
Savage says he is innocent and the charges against him are “bumped up.”
Savage ran in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District Republican primary but received less than 2% of the votes.
“We unequivocally condemn any form of criminal election interference. We appreciate law enforcement’s efforts in pursuing justice and we will continue to monitor this situation as the process unfolds,” Griffin Reid, the communications director for Indiana’s Republican Party, said in a statement.
