(NewsNation) — A former Republican congressional candidate from Indiana has been arrested and charged with stealing several election ballots during a recent voting machine test.
Police arrested Larry L. Savage Jr. on Tuesday, charging him with destroying/misplacing a ballot and theft.
Savage, 51, was a candidate in the Republican 5th District primary held earlier this year. He was defeated by incumbent Rep. Victoria Spartz in the 2024 primary.
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Oct. 3 voting machine test
Two election ballots went missing during testing of local voting machines on Oct. 3, which led to an investigation and charges against Savage. The test was a public event in which several citizens attended, court documents said.
Despite being marked “test,” the ballots were still officially tracked and counted by the state and included real candidate names as well as differing votes. After testing, officials found one straight-Republican ballot and one write-in ballot were missing.
A review of security footage showed Savage handling the two missing ballots. He can also be heard confirming with an election official that these are “absolutely, totally real ballots.”
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After it was determined that Savage was likely the person responsible for the missing ballots, police were granted a warrant to search his car and home. It was executed that same night and police discovered the ballots in the back seat of his Honda Civic.
Savage turned himself in on Tuesday after an arrest warrant was issued, but did not admit guilt to his alleged crimes. He has since been released on a $500 cash bond.
An initial hearing in Savage’s case has not yet been scheduled.
NewsNation affiliate WXIN contributed to this report.
