Jasper Challenger Wants Special Election

Schutter has spent years as an educator in Indiana.

The losing candidate in the race for Jasper mayor is calling for a special election. Incumbent Terry Seitz (R) was declared victorious by one vote Friday in a recount of last month’s election that ended in a virtual tie with Wayne Schuetter. News Now Dubois County reports Schuetter has until the end of the day to file a legal challenge to the result declared by a recount commission.

Schuetter says a special election instead of the recount would have avoided "the disenfranchisement" of a voter. That one discounted vote swung the election in Seitz’s favor. Barring a legal resolution, Seitz will take office for a second term at the beginning of the year.

During a news conference Monday morning streamed online by News Now Dubois County, Schuetter said "the people of Jasper know that the way in which this decision and election was decided is wrong, even though, again, ‘it is the law.’ The law in this case is flawed and should be changed to protect the voters’ rights under the Constitution." He suggests a special election would have been the correct course of action immediately following the tie, calling it "an appropriate and positive way to resolve the issue."

The publication reports Schuetter’s legal options include judicial review of the decision from the recount hearing and taking his challenge to the state appellate court.