Madison County committeeman accepts diversion agreement in election tampering case

The case of a Madison County precinct committeeman charged with felony election tampering has been settled by an agreement with the county prosecutor’s office that likely won’t see him charged with anything. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, that means the aspiring politician could still run for office.

Last October, during a public test of Madison County’s voting machines, Larry Savage was seen on camera taking home two sample ballots. State law says those ballots must all be accounted for and sealed, but Savage claimed he had no idea he couldn’t take them home.

Rather than going to trial, Savage has agreed to a diversion agreement. He’ll pay a fine, complete community service hours, and make a public acknowledgement of what he did. If he completes the terms, he will not receive a conviction.

Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said he believes the agreement is reasonable.

“It’s just a fairness thing,” said Cummings. “He’s a first-time offender. And from our point of view, it was necessary for him to acknowledge publicly what he did and take responsibility for that.”

Savage says moving forward with the diversion agreement was a last minute decision and that he contemplated continuing to fight the charges.

“I’ve had thousands of people reach out to me and want me to continue and want me to fight.” He continued, “I kind of had to do what I had to do, you know, I had to make sure that I protected myself and I had to protect my family.”

Savage maintains that he had no malicious intent when he took the test ballots home with him last October. Previously, Cummings said Savage was informed multiple times during the test that those ballots needed to be counted. And he pointed to a state police investigation that found social media posts Savage made about the ballots.

Savage says the notoriety of the experience has helped propel him forward for a 2027 mayoral run in Anderson. He’s run in several recent elections, most recently losing the 2024 Republican primary for the Fifth District’s US House Representative.

Cummings says, “He’ll have the ability to run for office. I’m not sure about if the case is going to have any impact on his ability to prevail.”

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer. Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu.