Latest News from Stephanie Ball…
Supreme Court allows states to count mail-in ballots that arrive late, rejecting RNC challenge | NBC News | June 29, 2026
STATEMENT FROM STEPHANIE BALL:
“SCOTUS just ruled we can count all mail-in ballots cast in our elections. Thank you for continuing to allow states to run their own elections as enshrined in the Constitution.”
Election worker says federal officers confronted her at polls over social media post criticizing ICE | Associated Press | June 26, 2026
STATEMENT FROM STEPHANIE BALL:
“We shouldn’t have to say this, but we will: Federal ICE agents are prohibited by federal law from entering polling locations.”
A healthy democracy depends on both integrity and inclusion | Opinion by Elizabeth A. Bennion | South Bend Tribune | June 24, 2026
STATEMENT FROM STEPHANIE BALL:
“This is an alarming column by Elizabeth Bennion from the League of Women Voters about Indiana's unnecessary barriers to voting.
“To be clear: When it comes to administering our county’s election, our rule will be expansion, not contraction. Our democracy thrives when voting rights are protected and voting locations are plentiful.
“But with Indiana’s new proof-of-citizenship law — which is being challenged in court — voters across the state are being purged. According to Bennion, ‘a majority of flagged individuals — many of them naturalized citizens — have had their voter registrations rejected or canceled. These outcomes often stem not from ineligibility, but from bureaucratic mismatches, outdated records or missed communications.’
“We are now getting reports across St. Joseph County that folks — who are absolutely eligible to vote — are getting postcards informing them they have been de-registered to vote. This is unacceptable.
“Our Clerk of the Circuit Court should not be just sending arbitrary and confusing postcards to comply with this new, misguided law. If we truly care about voting rights, we should be calling affected voters directly to verify their eligibility before purging them via postcard.
“This is not democracy. It’s voter suppression.”
Exclusive: Seven St. Joseph County candidates answer Tribune questions | South Bend Tribune | June 22, 2026
… In order to fully support citizens seeking clerk services, Ball said, there needs to be integrity within the staff, which is one of the biggest challenges she believes is facing the clerk's office.
“I want to be able to evaluate the [people] we have currently and really help them to thrive in the best spots so that we can serve the clients in the best way possible,” Ball said. “Customer service is really important to me because when people are coming to the clerk’s office a lot of times they’re in an emotional high”…
STATEMENT FROM STEPHANIE BALL:
“In an era where we openly lament the lack of youth participation in our elections, accidentally rejecting two 17-year-olds attempting to lawfully vote in Tuesday’s primary is unacceptable. The current Clerk must take immediate steps to correct this error. Every effort should be made to EXPAND voter participation by our young adults, not contract it!”
St. Joseph County clerk candidates talk election security, etc. | South Bend Tribune | May 1, 2026
… The biggest challenge we face is gaining back public trust in the integrity of the office. We plan to put more resources into staff professional development and retention efforts. It is important to have highly trained and knowledgeable staff who want to serve the community and feel valued for the work that they do. We plan to meet with judges, clerk staff, court staff and other county officials to identify areas where the clerk’s office can be more efficient and effective as we serve the public.
We will seek citizen input about how we can improve office efficiency, increase customer satisfaction and advance accuracy in the work that we perform. By investing in our team and listening to our customers, the clerk’s office will regain public trust that is so vital to delivering high quality services, both internally and externally… — Stephanie Ball
Recent events highlight fragility of voting protections | Opinion by Stephanie Ball | South Bend Tribune | March 19, 2026
… Here in St. Joseph County, we take the right to vote seriously. Our goal should be expansion, not contraction. Democracy works best when voting rights are protected and polling places are accessible.
But MAGA politicians are pushing the opposite approach. The U.S. Senate is considering the SAVE Act, which recently passed the House 218–213. As Nonprofit Vote noted, it is “the wrong solution for a non-problem.”
The bill would require documentary proof of citizenship — such as a passport or birth certificate — to register to vote. A Real ID or military ID alone would not suffice.
In practice, this could make voting harder for millions of Americans, especially women. About 70 million American women have birth certificates that do not match their current legal names due to marriage, and tens of millions do not have passports. Many would be forced to spend time and money navigating bureaucracies just to prove who they are.
That begins to resemble a modern poll tax, which the 24th Amendment prohibits…
MAGA wants Election Day chaos. Our job is to stop them.| by Stephanie Ball | March 13, 2026
"... the SAVE Act is the wrong solution for a non-problem..."
… This “wrong solution” to a “non-problem” would require all voters to “provide documentary proof of citizenship — a passport or birth certificate… A Real ID would not be acceptable… nor would military IDs, without accompanying documentation like a birth certificate…”
Simply put, this bill will make it much, much harder for women to vote… especially Black and Brown women.
I’m lucky: I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas just over a half a century ago to parents who named me Stephanie Smith. I still have my birth certificate and I have a passport. After three decades of voting in St. Joseph County, I can prove I am Stephanie Ball.
But, 70 million American women have birth certificates that do not match their current legal names due to marriage. Tens of millions do not have passports. Should this law pass, these women will have to spend money and time battling bureaucracies just to prove they are who they are…
… Don’t think this can happen in St. Joseph County? Think again.
Our least-popular-governor-in-America, Mike Braun, already tried to rig our elections with his failed redistricting attempt last year and the legislature tried (and failed) to pass laws limiting early voting and purging voter rolls.
There are already rumors swirling throughout our community that our current Clerk of the Court has inquired about having law enforcement at our polling location. Again, the law is clear here — law enforcement officers are “prohibited from entering polling locations” — but, as Dallas proved, we cannot take anything for granted…
Candidate Filing: Stephanie Ball for Clerk of the Circuit Court | Jan. 9, 2026
… “We need a Clerk with real-life, lived experience who can lead with empathy and attention to detail. Too many of our neighbors are living paycheck-to-paycheck and are one bad day away from small claims court or an eviction or foreclosure notice. As Clerk, we will be efficient and transparent, while also remembering the human side of dealing with our court system.”
“And, when it comes to administering our county’s election, our rule will be expansion, not contraction. Our democracy thrives when voting rights are protected and voting locations are plentiful.” — Stephanie Ball