The St. Joseph County Election Board voted 2-0 Thursday to rule in favor of a challenge against school board candidate Ben Dallas because he tried to use the nickname “MAGA” on the November ballot.
The vote takes Dallas off this fall’s ballot.
Dallas had filed to run for the Penn-Harris-Madison school board — which, by Indiana law, is elected as a nonpartisan body. And that was part of the reason why the board ruled against Dallas.
But Andy Rutten, who’d filed the challenge against Dallas, also faced a challenge to his name as the Republican candidate for a District I county council seat. Local blogger Clifton French, a friend of Dallas, said he was challenging Rutten for using the nickname “Andy” when his legal first name is Anthony.
The board voted 2-0 against that challenge, saying that it came too late — it should have been filed before this spring’s primary, election board Chairman Tom Dixon said.
Copyright © 2024, South Bend Tribune