JOHNSON COUNTY — Election officials removed two candidates for the Sixth Congressional District, which includes Hancock County, from the ballot.
The Johnson County Democratic Party challenged the Rev. Mark J. Powell, a Whiteland resident running for U.S. Congress, before the Indiana Election Commission recently in Indianapolis. He failed to comply with state election law, which says a primary election candidate is only eligible if they voted for that party in the previous two elections. The law was changed last year and took effect in January.
Powell’s election record showed he voted on a Democratic ballot in the 2020 primary, and on a Republican ballot in the 2018 primary.
The Johnson County Republican Party also came before the Indiana Election Commission to request the removal of Zach Smith, a Republican candidate for the Sixth Congressional District, citing the same election law that led to Powell’s removal. Smith did not vote in the previous two elections in Indiana.
