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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...12083454327.txt

Two unopposed candidates not fans of new law

Ballot issue, they say, may cause confusion
By Tim Moran
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, August 21, 2011 5:08 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — At least two Common Council candidates in November’s general election are concerned about the confusion a new Indiana law may cause among voters.

The law states the name of any candidate for a government position who is running unopposed will not appear on this year’s ballot.

”I don’t agree with that and I don’t like it,” said Ron Hamilton Jr., Third Ward City Council Democratic candidate.

Hamilton is one of four Michigan City Democratic council candidates running unopposed this fall. Democratic incumbents Patricia Boy (Fourth Ward) and Marc Espar (Second Ward) and primary winner Duane Parry (Fifth Ward) also face no Republican opposition.

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”It is weird how they went about (the new rule),” Boy said. “There should be a program educating the voters, because this could cause confusion to the ones who hadn’t heard of this.”

Deputy Clerk Gale Neulieb, the Democratic nominee for City Clerk, also is running unopposed this year.

While Boy says voter turnout could be diminished by the new law, her main concern is the people who may “wonder what happened to their council candidate” and questions what happens if write-in votes are cast.

”It’s a strange law, and I’m still not sure why the did it,” she said.

Boy is entering her third general election as a council candidate, being elected to the Fourth Ward spot twice before.

Hamilton, who is in his first city general election, said voters would like to have the choice to either vote or abstain in an election with only one candidate.

”People’s opinions can change, and some that did not vote for a particular candidate in the spring should be able to in the fall if they chose to,” he said. “You should also have the choice to leave that part of the ballot blank. There is always a difference in the number of votes counted and received.”

But neither Boy nor Hamilton say the law is going to change their approach to the fall campaign.

Since Boy is running unopposed, she said she wasn’t going to “spend energy” on getting herself re-elected, but will continue to encourage others to vote on the first Tuesday this November.

Hamilton’s plan included going door-to-door to introduce himself to Third Ward residents and said that would not change either.


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