Former Republican candidate arrested on charges of ballot theft

Larry Lee Savage Jr., a former Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District, booked himself into jail Tuesday morning after being accused of stealing ballots during a public test of voting machines in Madison County.

Before voting machines can be used in elections in Indiana, they are tested in the presence of representatives of political parties, candidates, the media and the general public. Savage was elected county commissioner and leader of a local political party during the Republican primary in May and watched a public voting machine test in Madison County on Oct. 3.

In the test, election officials manually collect information from ballots. They then run the same ballots through the voting machines and compare the results for accuracy.

Madison County tested four voting machines with 136 ballots on Oct. 3. Two of the ballots were lost during the test. Surveillance footage showed Savage folding them and putting them in his pocket, according to a probable cause statement.

While executing a search warrant, police officers found the missing ballots in Savage’s car.

On Monday, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Savage on one count of destroying or misplacing a ballot and one count of theft.

Savage ran in the Republican primary in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District against Representative Victoria Spartz and seven other candidates, winning just under 2% of the vote. On social media, Savage describes himself as a “MAGA candidate.”

According to online records, a first performance has not yet been scheduled. No attorney is listed for Savage.

This story will be updated.

Ryan Murphy is the community reporter for IndyStar. Contact her at [email protected] or 317-800-2956.