INDIANAPOLIS — Candidate for secretary of state Greg Ballard says he is filing a lawsuit compelling the Indiana Election Commission to meet before election day to consider pending finance complaints in the race for office.
In a statement, Ballard says complaints made against the campaigns of Republican candidate Max Engling and Democratic candidate Beau Bayh are going ignored. The complaints in question were filed in the last four months – one on July 24 and the remaining three in September.
He added that “Hoosier voters deserve stronger accountability and transparency” in “a system designed to fail.”
“The Commission has consistently met in September, but not this year,” Ballard said in a statement. “The Commission last met on July 24. Its website says no meeting is scheduled. Early voting began October 6. The complaint asks only that the Commission convene and decide, as the statute requires, whether there is substantial reason to believe a violation occurred — before the election, while it still matters to voters.
The former mayor of Indianapolis says he is set to deliver a letter to the election commission at the Indiana Government Center at 10:30 a.m.
“I am a candidate in this race, bound by the same laws these complaints invoke. I am not asking the Commission to rule for or against anyone. I am asking it to meet,” Ballard stated.
Statement from Ballard
The Indiana Election Commission should convene a meeting, do its job, and get to work on behalf of Hoosier voters. I ask my fellow candidates to join me in making this request.
Hoosier voters deserve stronger accountability and transparency in the conduct of our elections. Today I am asking the Indiana Election Commission to meet, which it has not done since July. It is ignoring four complaints filed in the Secretary of State’s race. Early voting has already started. Traditionally the Commission meets in September, which did not happen this year. Not meeting is an abandonment of duties.
The current makeup of the Commission is two Republicans and two Democrats. This is a system designed to fail. The two parties are protecting themselves, rather than protecting the integrity of voting and elections in Indiana. The non-action of the Indiana Election Commission, its failure to meet, and its disregard of its duty to Hoosiers is why I have taken legal action asking the Commission to convene – and the courts to ensure that happens.
We are not asking for a particular outcome; that is entirely up to the Commission, but we are asking the Commission to do its job by holding a meeting on any complaints that have been filed to date and take action well before Election Day so voters have all the information they deserve.
Transparency and accountability are the cornerstone of rebuilding trust in the Secretary of State’s office and in our elections. To get there, the Commission should make decisions before the election and enforce campaign finance laws.
