Former Republican congressional candidate in Indiana charged with stealing election ballots

CHICAGO (CBS) — A former Republican candidate for Congress in Indiana has been charged with stealing election ballots during a voting machine test earlier this month.

Larry Savage, who lost in the Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District in Indiana in May, has been charged with one felony count of destroying or misplacing a ballot, and one misdemeanor count of theft, according to Indiana State Police.

On Oct. 3, officials were conducting a public test of the ballot card voting system in Madison County in central Indiana, using four voting machines and 132 ballots marked for testing, police said. During the test, two ballots were discovered to be missing after an initial tabulation.

Police said surveillance video showed Savage, a precinct committeeman, folding those two ballots and placing them in his pocket, after being told they were valid test ballots.

A judge issued a search warrant for Savage’s home, where they found the missing ballots in his car.

Savage turned himself in at the Madison County Jail on Tuesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He has since been released on $500 cash bond, according to Madison County Jail records.