Town candidates can file until Aug. 1

With Linton and Jasonville’s primary elections finished, local party leaders are preparing for possible upcoming town conventions.

Candidates for major political parties seeking open seats in Greene County towns have until Aug. 1 to file for those seats.

Republican Party Chairperson Paul Clark said currently, the Republican Party will definitely need to have a town convention in Worthington for the position of Worthington Clerk-Treasurer.

Democratic Party Chairperson Jeff Lehman said there is currently a need for a Democratic Party town convention for Worthington Town Council.

While there are two races that will need a convention, for now, there is a potential for more with the filing date open until the beginning of August.

Clark offered details regarding why the town conventions are necessary, and how they will be handled.

“Indiana law says that any town -- classified as a town -- with less than 3,500 voters has a specific procedure they have to go through to establish their candidates for the fall election. In the absence of an ordinance established the prior year asking the county to conduct a primary election and agreeing to pay for it, the major political parties, including Republican, Democrat and Libertarian parties, are required to conduct a town convention,” Clark explained.

Currently, no towns in Greene County have that ordinance in place which requires the county to conduct a primary election.

Specifically in Worthington, for example, two Republicans are seeking the same seat, so a town convention must be held in order to chose a candidate for that party to move on to the fall general election. That candidate will then run against the Democratic candidate (or unopposed) on the fall general election ballot.

“Worthington is currently the only town with enough candidates to host a convention, but that can change. It works the same as it does in the cities to hold a primary election.”

Clark said the town conventions do not happen very often, especially in comparison to city primaries, due to a lack of candidates for those town positions.

“Since I’ve taken over as (county) Republican Chairman, I’ve had four. In Talking to other Republican chairmen, that’s unheard of,” Clark said.

While the parameters to need a town convention may be similar to the need for a primary election, the town convention itself is drastically different.

“A convention is much like you see on TV for the presidential races. When the states get together to nominate a presidential and vice presidential candidate for their party, a town convention is very similar to that,” Clark said. “A lot of people think they can just come in and vote during the convention time, but that’s not how it works.”

Clark said candidates have until Aug. 1 to file for their major political party, but there is a quick turnaround time for the actual event. The town conventions must be completed by Aug. 21.

Once the party realizes a need for a town convention, Lehman said a town chairperson and secretary are put in place to organize the convention. The convention is then registered with the Clerk’s Office and posted in three prominent places within the town.

Clark explained a time frame will be set for the town convention, which is one of the biggest differences from the primary election. For example, if the town convention is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m., all voters interested in participating must be in the door by 5 p.m. It is not like a primary election where voters can come and go during that time period.

Republican convention voters must have been in line at the cutoff time in order to be allowed to enter the convention.

Lehman said the Democratic convention is similar, with a specific cutoff area designated in the line if not everyone is checked in at the start time.

Clark explained this is just to ensure they have a starting and stopping point to get the convention started.

“Anyone who is registered to vote (in that town/district) through the Voter Registration Office is allowed to vote regardless of their past voting history,” Clark explained. “So, that being said, when we have a Republican convention in Worthington, the Democrats can come and participate. However, if they have no voting history or their most recent voting history is for the other party, they have to sign a letter that says they are a supporting person of the party who is having the convention.”

For a specific example, if a Democrat attends the Republican convention, they have to sign a letter stating while they have supported the Democratic party in the past, they are choosing to support the Republic Party for the convention.

Their names and statements are presented to the convention members, and the chairman makes the initial determination on whether that person is allowed to participate. If a concern arises, those names are placed in front of all of the convention participants to be put to a vote.

Once the convention begins, rules for the convention will be voted on by the people in attendance, including the voting method, a method to resolve ties, a method for narrowing the list of candidates if none receive the majority vote and the rights of nonvoting observers and media in attendance.

The candidates will then be able to give a presentation before the voting begins in the approved manner established by the rules.

“It works very similar to the elections where they have someone to oversee to ensure there is no one telling you who to vote for, so no electioneering taking place,” Clark said.

Once all of the votes are cast, the chairperson will have two designated individuals to tally the votes.

“Each candidate in that vote has an opportunity, by the ballot rules, to have a watcher, and they are allowed to watch as every ballot is counted,” Clark noted.

The vote totals are then read during the convention.

While the participants can leave after they have voted, they would not be able to come back in should there be a need for a recount, Clark explained.

Clark said it is important to explain the process to voters, especially considering the town convention does not happen as often as its primary counterpart.

“The last thing we want is to inconvenience voters. We want them to understand. We want them to participate. Just because the primary election has ended for Linton and Jasonville, doesn’t mean that if someone is interested in small-town politics, there is still time,” Clark said.

Editor's note: The story in Monday's print edition incorrectly stated there was no need for a town convention for the Democratic party yet. The online edition is correct and there will be a correction in Wednesday's edition.