St. Joseph County Democrats last month won their court fight to get four candidates back on the Nov. 3 ballot over Republicans’ objections regarding paperwork. The Democratic Party chair is now pursuing an Open Door Law violation complaint.
This week Don Westerhausen filed a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor. It states that Republican County Clerk Amy Rolfes and Republican county election board chair John Jurgnoski violated the Open Door Law when they told Rolfes’ deputy clerk, Kimberly Riskovitch, to leave the Democrats’ names off the ballot. Westerhausen says this was illegal because a county election board cannot take action behind closed doors.
Westerhausen included this complaint in his lawsuit against Rolfes and the board. While St. Joseph Superior Judge Jenny Pitts-Manier ruled for the Democrats, ordering the candidates to be placed on the ballot, she separated the Open Door complaint to be ruled on later.
Westerhausen’s Public Access Counselor complaint alleges that Rolfes and Jurgonski decided, “out of the public eye and apparently through one or more phone calls and emails and perhaps even an in-person meeting, to illegally keep the candidates off the ballot. They then used the Board’s generically noticed September 3, 2026 meeting as pretense to cover up taking that final action on public business behind closed doors…”
Rolfes declined our interview request, saying she wants to read Westerhausen’s complaint before commenting.
