Greg Ballard commemorated the independent effort to get his name on the November ballot for secretary of state Tuesday, turning over eight large boxes containing thousands of petition signatures to election officials.
Pending final review by the state election division, Ballard’s name will appear on the ballot — but he also signaled how his candidacy can make running for election easier for other independents.
“This campaign, however, is not just about me,” Ballard told a few dozen supporters inside the Indiana Statehouse. “It is about a movement. It is about opening the door for more good candidates around Indiana.”
“Candidates with good judgment and character,” he said. “Candidates with courage. Candidates who can win and who want to serve voters instead of parties.”
FOUR-CANDIDATE FIELD LOOMS
Ballard, who was elected as a Republican to Indianapolis mayor in 2007 and 2011, attached his secretary of state campaign to the Lincoln Party label shortly after launching his bid. At the time, the campaign said the move was “to unlock ballot access for other good people like him in the future — without the onerous signature requirements currently imposed on independent candidates.”
Ballard’s candidacy creates a unique four-candidate race for the office that oversees statewide election and voting policies and is currently held by Republican Diego Morales.
Morales, however, lost the Republican nomination in last month’s party convention to Max Engling, a staffer for U.S. Sen. Jim Banks.
That set up a likely high-spending race against Democrat Beau Bayh, a son of former Gov. Evan Bayh, with Libertarian Lauri Shillings also on the ballot.
INDEPENDENT BALLOT ACCESS
The secretary of state’s races act as a gateway for Indiana ballot access. For Ballard to get his name on the ballot, he needed around 37,000 verified registered voters’ signatures — totalling 2% of the votes cast for secretary of state in 2022.
It’s a similar idea for his Lincoln Party. If Ballard earns 2% of the vote in November, the party’s candidates would automatically be on the general election ballot for the next four years. Libertarians have topped 2% since the 1994 secretary of state race.
With 10%, the party would hold a state-funded primary.
Nathan Gotsch is campaign manager for Ballard. He’s also chair of the Lincoln Party, which filed paperwork June 30 to organize in Indiana.
Gotsch, who ran in 2022 as an independent for northeastern Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District, said he’s heard interest in the Lincoln Party from both current and former Democratic and Republican elected officials. That has stemmed from disillusionment with in-fighting and a lack of care for voters among the two largest parties, he said.
Gotsch acknowledged the purpose of Ballard running under the Lincoln Party is to remove hurdles like the signature requirement for other independents to run under it.
“If the rules on independents weren’t so tough here, we wouldn’t need to have a party,” he told the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
FINAL COUNT TO CONFIRM BALLOT STATUS
Ballard’s campaign submitted signatures collected by a firm and volunteers to county officials last month. Counties verified 41,299 signatures that were filed with the state ahead of Wednesday’s deadline, the campaign said.
It will now be up to the Indiana Election Division, which is staffed by an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, to review the Ballard petitions and confirm that enough certified signatures were submitted.
Democratic Co-Director Angela Nussmeyer said Tuesday she couldn’t estimate how long it would take staffers to complete their review.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Ballard was mum on what platforms might unite the Lincoln Party, pointing instead to candidates of “quality.”
“We want them to be practical, problem-solving people who you’d be proud to have in office,” Ballard said.