Ballard asks Braun to compel Election Commission meeting in Central Indiana

Indianapolis, Ind. Republican Greg Ballard, the candidate for Indiana Secretary of State, sent a letter Tuesday morning to Governor Mike Braun asking the executive to force the state’s Election Commission to convene. Ballard’s request follows a court ruling earlier this week that dismissed his lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction to make the commission hold a meeting.

The commission is not scheduled to meet again until the end of October. Several campaign finance complaints have been filed against Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling, both running for governor. Ballard argues that delaying these hearings until after the November 3 election is unfair to voters and protects major party candidates.

“With the continuing erosion of trust in our voting system here in Indiana, I asked him to act on behalf of the voters,” Ballard told reporters on Tuesday. He has not yet spoken directly with the governor. A spokesperson for the Braun office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

One of the primary complaints involves a $60,000 donation to the Engling campaign. Ballard and his legal team note that the campaign quickly returned the money. However, Republican state Representative David Shelton, who joined Ballard’s suit earlier this month, argues a hearing is still necessary. Shelton wants the commission to examine the source of the funds, a group called Hoosier Leadership for America that is affiliated with U.S. Senator Jim Banks.

Other complaints against Bayh concern events he attended but did not disclose in campaign filings. In her decision denying Ballard’s request, Judge Jennifer Harrison wrote that Ballard had not shown a likelihood of success at trial. She also noted that granting the injunction could harm the integrity of the election process by altering the standard procedure.

Ballard disagrees with the judge’s assessment. He pointed out that the commission met in September for the past five years before skipping the month this year. “Because they'd always met in September the past five years, and they chose, obviously, obviously for political reasons, to not meet,” Ballard said. He described the decision to skip the meeting as a challenge to election integrity.

The November 3 general election will decide the next governor of Indiana and the state’s top election official. The outcome of the governor’s response to Ballard’s letter will determine whether the commission hears these specific complaints before voters cast their ballots.