By Molly Gregory
JEFFERSONVILLE – Greg Ballard, secretary of state candidate and former two-term mayor of Indianapolis, made a campaign stop in Jeffersonville on Thursday.
Ballard is running under the Lincoln Party as an independent candidate in the race for Indiana secretary of state. He’s up against the Democratic nominee, Beau Bayh, the Republican nominee, Max Engling, Libertarian Lauri Shillings and the National Socialist American Workers’ write-in Andrew Delano.
Ballard’s race for secretary of state is comparatively crowded, which he sees as a good thing. He said he believes there should be multiple options for voters to pick from in every political race.
“November races generally are not competitive,” he said. “This one is. And that’s because we’re in this race.”
Though he ran for mayor of Indianapolis and won as a Republican in 2007 and 2011, Ballard chose not to run for state office under the party because of “toxic partisanship.”
“I want to go in there and establish some independence in the office,” Ballard said. “I want to take politics out of it once I’m in there, so I won’t be endorsing or donating to anybody.”
Trust in the current secretary of state, Diego Morales, is relatively low, as he’s accused of abusing his power to take trips abroad, entering Indiana into no-bid contracts with technology companies that later donated to his campaign, hiring his brother-in-law for a six-figure job in his own office and more.
Ballard said multiple times that he wants to govern for “the people” and not for a specific political party. As the mayor of Indianapolis, he took a similar approach. He prioritized platforms like environmental sustainability and government transparency. He published all of the city’s contracts online, a move which he said was seen as unusual.
“We passed the ethics ordinance right out the gate, also made lobbyists register, so we were very, very open about all of this,” he said. “And we’ll do the same thing in the secretary of state’s office.”
If Ballard were to take office as the secretary of state, he would prioritize making it easier for people to vote, he said. He’s in support of early voting, and said that 30 days is an appropriate amount of time for people to be able to vote in advance. He also said he’s in support of mail-in ballots, as long as there is adequate security.
Another priority of his is to make voting more accessible so that voter turnout increases in Indiana. During the 2026 primary elections in Southern Indiana, turnout was 16.99% in Floyd County and 15.84% in Clark County, according to poll records.
“There’s a couple reasons why I don’t think people vote,” he said. “One is, they don’t know who they’re voting on, and the line takes so long, and when you get in there, it takes too much time.”
As a solution, Ballard said his campaign will publish a voter’s guide with candidates’ information so “you have an idea of who you’re voting for.”
Ballard said another problem with Indiana elections is that many Hoosiers think their votes don’t matter.
“The races aren’t competitive,” he said. “Why would we vote in November if everything was decided in May? … We need competitive races, and I think people will pay more attention at that point in time.”
Election Day is Nov. 3.
This article originally appeared in the News and Tribune.