ANDERSON, IN – July 30, 2025 — The upcoming trial of Larry Savage, who is facing serious legal trouble over the alleged mishandling of election test materials, has been postponed. Originally scheduled to begin this week in Madison Circuit Court Division 6, the case has been continued until September 22 following a request from Savage’s newly appointed defense attorney, Chris Gilley.
Savage, 51, is charged with one felony count related to the destruction or misplacement of a ballot, as well as a misdemeanor theft charge. The allegations stem from an October 3 incident during a routine test of Madison County’s voting systems. The test was conducted under the Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP), a Ball State University initiative designed to ensure the integrity of electronic voting machines.
According to court documents filed by Indiana State Police investigator David Peterson, two test ballots went missing during the evaluation process. Surveillance footage reportedly captured Savage removing the ballots from the testing area and placing them in his pocket before exiting the Madison County Government Center. Shortly after, he was seen speaking quietly with Katherine Callahan, and later made a Facebook comment on her page, noting that the count was short by three ballots.
When questioned by authorities, Savage insisted he believed the documents were merely labeled as “sample ballots” and were not part of the official test inventory. He admitted he did not ask for permission to take them.
Investigators later executed a search warrant at Savage’s residence and confiscated his phone. Text messages recovered from the device show that Savage had contacted Callahan after the incident, asking whether there was any discussion about the missing ballots. In one message, he questioned, “I had three, how can they be one short?”—raising further concerns about the number of ballots taken.
Indiana law mandates that all materials used in election system testing be accounted for and securely sealed following the procedure.
Savage, who has repeatedly described the charges as a “political witch hunt,” is no stranger to the local political scene. He made unsuccessful runs for mayor of Alexandria in 2019 and for an at-large Anderson City Council seat in 2023. Most recently, he failed to secure the Republican nomination in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District primary.
As of now, the trial is set to resume in late September, where the court is expected to hear arguments over whether Savage’s actions were the result of confusion—or a violation of public trust.
