Ex-GOP candidate steals ballots in scheme to create controversy, Indiana official says

A former Republican congressional candidate is accused of stealing ballots during a test of voting machines, according to Indiana authorities.

Larry L. Savage Jr., a 51-year-old man who earlier this year was a candidate in the Republican 5th District primary in Indiana, was arrested on charges of theft and destroying or misplacing a ballot, Indiana State Police said.

The charges follow the testing of election equipment in Madison County as part of the Voting System Technical Oversight Program, according to an Oct. 29 state police news release.

People invited to attend the public test, which included Savage, a precinct committeeman, run pre-marked ballots through the machines to make sure they are properly working and counting votes correctly.

During the Oct. 3 test in Madison County, officials discovered two of the 136 ballots were missing, state police said.

The testing was livestreamed online, and the footage showed Savage fold up two of the ballots and put them in his pocket, authorities said.

He is also heard whispering to a Republican auditor candidate about the count of the ballots being wrong, according to court documents obtained by the Indianapolis Star.

Before he was caught, Savage commented on a Facebook Live post about election officials being short multiple ballots, WXIN reported.

“The ballots weren’t there because he took them himself,” Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings told WISH. “He creates a controversy that never existed in an effort to undermine confidence in our election process.”

State police said they later found the missing ballots in Savage’s vehicle.

Savage told an investigator he took the ballots because he was told they weren’t real, but the surveillance footage showed a woman overseeing the test telling attendees that they were “live election ballots,” according to the Indianapolis Star.

“This is all political (expletive) is all it is,” he said as he blamed other officials, according to WXIN.

Cummings told WISH it’s the first time someone has tried to steal test ballots in his 10 years with the current machines.

In an interview with WXIN, Savage said he is “an innocent man” and “the truth is going to come out.”

Savage turned himself in at the Madison County Jail on Oct. 29, according to state police.

Cummings, according to WXIN, called Savage’s actions “corruption at its core.”

When he ran for office earlier this year, Savage billed himself as a “MAGA candidate.” He secured less than 2% of the vote in the primary.

“A new era of accountability has begun in Madison County,” he said on Facebook in an Oct. 17 post. “We will shield citizens from harassment, dismantle entrenched networks, and conduct thorough investigations into questionable conduct. By demanding fair, transparent elections, we will restore trust and protect civil rights.”

This story was originally published October 30, 2024 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Ex-GOP candidate steals ballots in scheme to create controversy, Indiana official says."