Shelbyville Central referendum fails; Republicans control election races

Tuesday, November 3, 2026 at 9:01 PM

By Johnny McCrory

A referendum to provide funding to Shelbyville Central Schools has failed.

The final vote tally on Tuesday’s Shelby County Election Summary Report shows a separation of just 360 votes, No – 2946 to Yes – 2586.

Also among the contested Shelby County races before the voters Was the District 3 seat on the county council. Republican James Ramsey defeated Democrat Sean David Scott, 1406 – 1073 (56.72% to 43.28%).

In Morristown, three seats were contested by four candidates for the town council. Daniel Sidebottom was the top vote-getter with 179 followed by Scott Gumberts with 178 and Kristi Langkabel’s 160. All are Republicans. Democrat Don Roberts finished fourth with 95.

In school board races, the District 4 seat of the Shelbyville Central School Board goes to Sara Deprez Lewis with 3142 votes. She defeated Julie Ruschhaupt who finished with 2724.

Shelby Eastern School Board had a contested race for an At-Large seat. Sarah (Hart) Wester was a winner over Edward Kenneth Comstock II, 1047 – 949.

For Shelby County’s portion of the State Representative District 73 race, Jennifer Meltzer gained 3949 votes to Democrat – challenger Allen Miller’s 2719. Meltzer also won Decatur County by a wide margin.

For Addison Township Board, three seats were available with five candidates. The top three in the final tally were Richard Moorhead with 1767, Susan Smith with 1592 and Sherri Deaton with 1555. All of the candidates are Republican.

Shelby Township Board also had three seats in play among five candidates. Top three in the race were all Republican. Blake Fix was the leader with 306 votes. F. Wayne Montgomery was second with 227 followed by Rock Robertson with 208.

On Tuesday, 7209 Shelby County voters went to the voting centers. There was 4565 absentee voters during early voting while 350 voted paper absentee. That brought the total voter turnout to 12,124, 39.15% of the 30,965 registered voters in the county.