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Whistleblower Exposes Marion County Election Board’s Alleged Scheme to Manipulate Nursing Home Votes
- Kelly Roberts
- 37 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Indianapolis, IN – May 27, 2025 – A former employee of the Marion County Election Board (MCEB) has come forward with explosive allegations, accusing the board of orchestrating a shameful scheme to exploit vulnerable nursing home residents for Democratic votes. The whistleblower, a Democratic Precinct Committee member from Washington Township who served as an election judge for over five years, has filed a formal complaint with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, demanding accountability for what she describes as blatant voter manipulation. Choosing to remain anonymous to protect herself from retaliation, the former employee paints a damning picture of an election board that has allegedly turned a blind eye to unethical practices under its watch.
According to the whistleblower, the MCEB has been engaging in what she calls “vote harvesting” in nursing homes across Marion County. She claims to have witnessed fellow employees systematically manipulating elderly residents, particularly those with mental handicaps, to cast ballots for Democratic candidates. “It was sickening,” the whistleblower said in her complaint. “These residents, many of whom couldn’t fully understand what was happening, were being coached to vote a certain way. This wasn’t democracy—it was exploitation.”
The whistleblower alleges that she repeatedly raised alarms about these disturbing practices to MCEB Director Patrick Becker and Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell, both of whom sit on the election board. Yet, she says, her pleas for action were met with deafening silence. “I went to Patrick Becker multiple times, and he did nothing,” she stated. “Kate Sweeney Bell, who’s supposed to uphold the integrity of our elections, brushed it off like it didn’t matter. Their inaction is complicity.” The whistleblower’s accusations cast a dark shadow over the MCEB, suggesting a leadership either unwilling or unable to confront corruption within its ranks.
Becker, who has overseen the MCEB’s operations, and Bell, a former Marion County Democratic Party Chair elected as clerk in 2022, are now at the center of scrutiny. The whistleblower’s claims raise serious questions about their commitment to fair elections and whether they allowed political loyalties to override ethical responsibility. “I’ve been a proud Democrat my whole career,” the whistleblower said, “but what I saw wasn’t about party loyalty—it was about abusing power and betraying the trust of Marion County’s voters.”
The allegations, if substantiated, point to a systemic failure within the MCEB, an institution tasked with safeguarding the democratic process. The whistleblower’s complaint to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office calls for a thorough investigation into the board’s practices, particularly its handling of nursing home voting. “The MCEB is supposed to protect the most vulnerable among us, not exploit them for political gain,” she said. “Marion County deserves better than an election board that preys on the elderly to rig the system.”
As of now, neither Becker nor Bell has publicly responded to the allegations, leaving voters to wonder whether the MCEB will address these claims or continue to dodge accountability. The Attorney General’s Office has yet to confirm whether it will launch a formal investigation, but pressure is mounting for answers. For the whistleblower, coming forward was a matter of principle. “I couldn’t keep working for a system that manipulates the voiceless,” she said. “Someone had to speak up.”
The residents of Marion County now await clarity on whether their election board, entrusted with upholding democracy, has instead been undermining it. Until the MCEB’s leadership takes responsibility, the whistleblower’s allegations will continue to cast a long shadow over the integrity of local elections.