By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
July 14, 2026
With just three votes separating the incumbent, state Sen. Spencer Deery, R-Lafayette, and his challenger, Paula Copenhaver, the fight for the Republican nomination in Indiana Senate District 23 will go before the Indiana Recount Commission at the end of this month.
Recount Director Evan Norris issued an order on Monday, scheduling a hearing in the legislative race to start at 9 a.m. on July 28 in the Statehouse. At that time, Norris will present the report on the recount process, and then Copenhaver and Deery will make their arguments and counterarguments on the discovery motions that have been filed with the Recount Commission.
However, Norris is requesting the Recount Commission delay making a final determination on the disputed ballots until after the discovery issues are settled.
Norris also scheduled hearings for the contested GOP primaries in House District 57, in which Wes Bennett defeated his next closest opponent, Greg Knott, in a four-way race by 79 votes, and Senate District 15, in which state Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, defeated challenger Darren Vogt by 14 votes. The Recount Commission will hear cases for House District 57 and Senate District 15 at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., respectively, on July 21 in the Statehouse.
All the documents filed in the district recounts have been posted to the Recount Commission’s website. Seven of the filings, most of which were submitted in June, do not have time stamps.
The scheduling order comes after Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales announced last week that the review of the votes cast in the three legislative primaries had been completed.
In addition, Morales announced that a post-election audit by the Secretary of State’s Office and the Voting System Technical Oversight Program at Ball State University was completed in several counties. A report on the audits in Jackson, Tipton, Whitely, Porter, Sullivan, Randolph and Scott counties will be available online in the coming weeks.
“Recounts and post-election audits are critical safeguards that provide additional verification and accountability,” Morales said in a statement. “These post-election procedures strengthen transparency, reinforce trust, and help ensure Indiana’s elections remain secure and trustworthy.”
None of the campaigns nor the attorneys for the four Indiana Senate candidates replied to a request for comment. Knott and Bennett could not be reached.
The most-contentious recount battle is between Deery and Copenhaver, a former Fountaine County Circuit Court Clerk and current government affairs director for Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith.
Deery was first elected to the Senate in 2022, after comfortably topping three other contenders, including Copenhaver, for the GOP nomination. However, after resisting pressure to support redrawing the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Deery was among the eight Hoosier Republican senators targeted by President Donald Trump and he was one of just two who won his primary.
State Sen. Greg Goode, R-Terre Haute, won the Republican primary for Senate District 38, defeating Trump’s pick, Brenda Wilson, and Alexandra Wilson.
Copenhaver, represented by Kroger Gardis & Regas in Indianapolis, filed a petition for a recount in the Senate District 23 GOP primary and has followed with a series of motions that would expand the process beyond double-checking the tally in that primary.
She is asking to subpoena and depose more than 10 individuals who posted on social media that they had pulled a GOP ballot in the primary specifically to vote for Deery. Also, Copenhaver is alleging that votes were added after the election results were tallied to Deery’s total in Parke and Tippecanoe counties. In addition to wanting the Recount Commission to toss the post-election Deery vote in Parke County, she is seeking to depose Tippecanoe County Circuit Court Clerk Julie Roush, a Republican, and staff members.
In addition, Copenhaver is raising the prospect that ineligible voters cast ballots in the District 23 primary. She has requested that Morales provide access to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements data provided by the federal government, and most recently, she has sought access to all poll books, poll lists and absentee ballot applications and affidavits.
A federal judge recently blocked the Trump administration from continuing to use SAVE data to check voter eligibility, citing concerns about privacy and inaccurate results.
Copenhaver asserted in her motion, she is seeking access and the data to “help determine whether individuals who were not qualified to vote in Senate District 23’s Republican primary due to age, resident or citizenship nevertheless voted in the Republican Primary.”
Deery has responded by filing a motion to subpoena Copenhaver for a deposition, apparently to question her about the allegations she had made of election irregularities in the District 23 primary.
The state senator noted in his motion that Copenhaver has claimed to “have personal knowledge” that “unlawful” votes were cast, and she wants “members of the general public, who may have voted in the Primary Election, to appear for depositions due to her knowledge and beliefs.” Also, Deery asserted his opponent has alleged “there is substantial evidence of tampering” in the district primary.
In his motion, Deery asked the Recount Commission to compel Copenhaver to sit for a deposition
Norris has scheduled the Recount Commission to hear oral arguments for Copenhaver’s six motions and Deery’s one at the July 28 meeting.
In separate footnotes, Norris asks the two candidates to “use their best effort” to reduce the number of disputed ballots. Also, Norris encouraged Copenhaver to help expedite any potential discovery by advising Roush, Tippecanoe County clerk, that subpoenas for records and depositions might be coming.
Brown, the incumbent state senator in District 15, is asking the Recount Commission to toss her challenger’s allegations of election irregularities.
The state senator noted Vogt made a contest claim but offered no evidence in support. Although in his petition, Vogt alleged a mistake in the printing or distribution of ballots, a mistake in programming an electronic voting system, or a malfunction of an electronic voting system, he did not identify the specific precinct in which the alleged mistake or malfunction occurred, as required by state statute.
Most recently, Brown filed a notice that Vogt failed to respond to her motion to dismiss and requests the contest claims be tossed. She emphasized in her filing that she is not seeking the dismissal of the recount portion of the proceeding, just of the claims of voting irregularities.
The House District 57 recount stands out from its Senate counterparts by what it lacks.
Four candidates ran for the GOP nomination after Rep. Craig Haggard, R-Mooresville, vacated the seat to challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Baird in the 4th Congressional District. Consequently, House District 57’s recount does not include an incumbent.
Bennett had the most votes when the primary ballots were counted on election night, but Knott filed the petition seeking a recount. Specifically, he sought to have the ballots counted again in 10 Hendricks County precincts.
However, unlike the parties in the two Senate district recounts, neither Bennett or Knott appears to have any legal representation and neither have filed any motions.
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org
