Indiana Secretary of State candidates sparred Wednesday over who is best positioned to serve in the role.
Candidates discussed a number of issues, including election security, the independence of the office and voter fraud.
Candidates reiterated many of the same promises they’ve made throughout the campaign.
Libertarian Lauri Shillings started the debate and emphasized her plan to improve the state’s website.
Independent Greg Ballard discussed his plan for making the Secretary of State’s office more independent and his hope to create a voter guide.
Democrat Beau Bayh underlined his plan to audit the Secretary of State’s office, something he believes is important after the numerous complaints about current Secretary of State Diego Morales, including nepotism and misspending of taxpayer dollars.
Republican Max Engling said he’s the ideal candidate to clean up problems with the office because he’s helped oust Morales, as party leadership chose him to run.
The debate was hosted by Indianapolis University Professor of Political Science, Laura Merrifield Wilson. Wilson pressed candidates on issues of fraud, artificial intelligence, and voter participation.
Wilson also asked candidates to reiterate their positions on whether the secretary of state’s office needs an audit and if there should be a crackdown on noncitizen voting. The question led to sparring between the candidates.
“We must have only eligible citizens voting,” Engling said. “I'm the only candidate that has said that and put that straightforward.”
“That’s a ludicrous assertion,” Ballard responded. “We all think that.”
“What you didn’t hear from Max is that he would audit the office,” Bayh said. “Max wants to pretend like the last four years of corruption that you witnessed never happened.”
“I would note that nobody here actually said that they would verify that it's U.S. citizens, except for me,” Engling said during his rebuttal.
“It’s unfortunate that we have limited time with the audience and Max is going to use some of it just making stuff up,” Bayh said.
Candidates also asserted positions on a bipartisan election recount commission.
“Your faction of the party wanted to subpoena voters,” Ballard said to Engling. “You want to be the chief elections officer, but you wanted to throw out six ballots where the voter intent was clear. Good luck with that.”
Ballard referenced a recount in Senate District 23 that upended the election results of that race before a decision by the Indiana Supreme Court reinstated it.
During a rebuttal, Shillings said she felt Engling's voter ID proposal would be an undue burden, particularly for divorced women who have to produce a birth certificate.
“They now have to prove if you're a divorced woman, if you have married, if you're adopted, and you have to produce a birth certificate, it's an undue burden for them,” she said.
For the final question, Wilson asked candidates why Hoosiers should vote for them.
“If you’re tired of a political machine that keeps us divided,” Shillings said, “I’m running for you.”
“I know what it means to be a Hoosier,” Engling said. “I'm also the candidate that has the most experience for this role, and the candidate that's committed to election integrity.”
“If you ever wanted more voter choice when you were in that voting booth, this is that opportunity,” Ballard said.
“There’s too much division and fear,” Bayh said. “I want to be the type of leader in the state house that tries to bring us together.”
The race so far
Polls released in the past week have Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling neck and neck, with Libertarian Lauri Shillings and Independent Greg Ballard trailing far behind.
Ballard’s campaign issued a statement after the first poll, released by Hoosier Leadership for America, noting that the group was also donating to Engling’s campaign - making it no surprise the poll had him winning.
“If they think these numbers for Mayor Ballard are accurate, why are they spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to attack him on TV?” the statement read.
Still, their statement acknowledged that 58% of likely voters are unaware of Ballard’s candidacy.
The race has also seen a number of endorsements in recent weeks, including from former GOP Lieutenant Gov. Sue Ellspermann and Sen. Greg Walker (R-Columbus). Ellspermann endorsed Ballard, and Walker endorsed Bayh.
Walker is one of the Republicans who opposed President Donald Trump’s redistricting effort last year, a move that cost him his reelection bid during the May primaries.
“I am a lifelong Republican, and I’m proud to vote for Beau Bayh. Hoosiers deserve better than the corruption that has plagued the Secretary of State’s office,” Walker said in a statement.
Walker and Ellspermann both represent Indiana Republicans moving away from their party’s preferred candidate, a faction that appeared during the convention earlier this year. That is also when delegates turned on current Secretary of State Diego Morales in favor of Engling.
Separately, a platform for the proposed Lincoln Party was released the day of the debate. If Ballard can win 2% of the vote, he has promised to form a party of his own in order to make it easier for independents to gain ballot access.
Many have asked Ballard to outline what the Lincoln Party would stand for and how the selection of candidates would work given his other pledge to keep the office of the secretary of state independent should he win.
Ahead of Wednesday’s debate, the Lincoln Party chair Nathan Gotsch released a statement of party principles that included support for ethical conduct, fiscal stewardship, and equality.
“The Lincoln Party’s job is simple: find good people, hold them to a clear standard, and let them make their case to voters,” Gotsch said in a statement.
This is the second debate for the candidates ahead of the November 3rd election.
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
