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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The St. Joseph County Election Board unanimously voted to kick a retired Army veteran off the ballot for the Penn Harris Madison School Board. Why? Because he LEGALLY used his nickname on the ballot. However, in one of the most anti-democratic decisions I have ever seen, the board made up their own definition of what a nickname is, claiming the Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran was using TWO nicknames, which would be in violation of the law.
In his campaign filings, Ben Dallas used his nickname of MAGA to be shown on the ballot. The ballot would show the following: “Ben Dallas ‘MAGA’.” The board claimed that since Dallas’ legal first name is actually “Benjamin”, the use of “Ben” and “MAGA” both constituted the use of different nicknames and Indiana statute only allows for the use of ONE.
According to Oxford dictionary, a “nickname” is “a familiar or humorous name given to a person or thing instead of or as well as the real name.” The name “Ben” is not considered to be a nickname, but rather a shortened version of his legal name.
Tom Dixon, the Republican member of the board, and Chuck Leone, the Democrat member of the board, voted to have Dallas removed. The other member of the board, County Clerk Amy Rolfes, abstained due to her fiance working for a local Political Action Committee who had contacted Dallas regarding the challenge last week.
The challenge was brought by current Republican St. Joseph County Council candidate Anthony Rutten, who actually used an illegal nickname on the ballot of “Andy” in an attempt to cover up a long history of legal issues. However, challenges to his candidacy were filed after the state mandated deadline and they were subsequently dismissed. Dixon conceded to the fact that Rutten should have also been removed from the ballot for his filing, but said legally there was nothing the board could do.
Dixon also mentioned that he believed the challenge filed by Rutten was done so out of pettiness. Dallas and Rutten were both part of a PHM parent group called Strengthen Our Schools (SOS). However, Dallas refused to support Rutten during the County Council Primary this past May, angering many of the members. Rutten is currently supporting another candidate in the PHM School Board race, Doug Chaffee, who is mired in controversy for attacking a young woman late last year.
RNM attempted to get comment from Rutten following the hearing. Being the coward and fraud he truly is, he refused to answer a single question.
Rutten’s challenge appeared to garner support from the new leadership of the St. Joseph County Republican Party. The party’s new Vice Chair, Joe Layne, was in attendance for the hearing and could be seen grinning from ear-to-ear as the combat veteran was thrown off the ballot. Layne has been looking to eliminate any party transparency by pushing for party members to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements if they wish to serve in leadership roles.
Dallas is currently exploring any options there may be to appeal the board’s decision.
This is a disgusting day to be a citizen of St. Joseph County. I encourage everyone reading this to contact the St. Joseph County GOP to demand the resignation of Vice Chair Joe Layne. You should also contact the St. Joseph County Election Board to express your opinion of this injustice against our political system and Mr. Dallas “MAGA”.
EMAIL: ElectionBoard@sjcindiana.com
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