Indiana Election Integrity Act
Indiana's Secretary of State serves as the state's chief election official and chairs the State Recount Commission — the body that resolves disputed elections. Yet nothing in Indiana law stops a sitting Secretary of State from simultaneously endorsing candidates, fundraising for a political party, or donating to campaigns in races they oversee. Indiana judges — who wield far less direct influence over election outcomes — are already barred from this kind of political activity. The state's top election official should be held to the same standard.
A new law would prohibit the Secretary of State, while in office, from:
- Publicly endorsing or opposing any candidate for elected office in Indiana
- Fundraising or donating to a political party or any candidate
- Personally soliciting or accepting campaign contributions on behalf of any candidate other than themselves
- Holding a leadership role in a political party
- Serving as a featured speaker or honoree at a partisan political event
- Using the office's staff or resources for political purposes
- Knowingly making false or misleading public statements about an election
What's Still Allowed
The Secretary of State may still register with a party and vote, campaign on their own behalf for their own re-election, attend (but not headline) political events as a private citizen, and take part in ceremonial public events alongside other officials.
How It Would Be Enforced
Complaints would go to the Indiana State Ethics Commission. If the Commission doesn't act promptly — especially in the run-up to an election — the complaint can proceed directly to court, so a complaint can't simply be held to run out the clock. Violations carry a civil penalty.
This proposal mirrors the rules Indiana's Supreme Court already applies to judges, who are barred from this same political activity to protect public confidence in impartial justice. The same logic applies to impartial elections.
FAQ: Indiana Integrity Act
Q: Why does this only apply to the Secretary of State, and not other statewide officials?
Because the Secretary of State is unique among Indiana's constitutional officers: the office administers elections statewide and chairs the Recount Commission that resolves disputed results. (We have already advocated for reforming the Recount Commission to be composed of five retired judges.) No other office combines a partisan election with authority over the mechanics of everyone else's elections.
Q: Doesn't the Secretary of State have free speech rights?
Indiana judges are elected officials too, and the rules governing their political conduct have stood for decades by being narrowly tailored — barring specific conduct like endorsements and fundraising while preserving the right to vote, register with a party, and run for one's own office. This proposal follows that same narrow model.
Q: Can the Secretary of State still run for re-election?
Yes. The proposal explicitly permits the Secretary of State to campaign on their own behalf, identify with their own party, and speak at their own campaign events. The restriction is on involvement in other candidates' campaigns and party activity, not their own.
Q: Can the Secretary of State attend a party dinner or rally?
Yes, as a private citizen — but they cannot be a featured speaker, announced speaker, or honoree at the event. Attendance alone is difficult to police and isn't restricted; using the platform of the event to campaign or fundraise is.
Q: Who enforces this?
A complaint would first go to the Indiana State Ethics Commission, the existing body with jurisdiction over state officers' conduct. If the Commission fails to act — especially close to an election, when speed matters most — the complainant can take the matter to court, where a civil penalty can still be assessed. This structure ensures a complaint can't just be buried by a commission whose members share a party with the Secretary of State.
Q: Is there precedent for this kind of restriction?
Yes. Indiana judges have operated under nearly identical restrictions since 1993. This proposal applies the same reasoning to the only other statewide office that adjudicates election outcomes.
Q: What happens if a Secretary of State violates this law?
They would be subject to a civil penalty, assessed either by the Ethics Commission or by a court.