Lincoln Party secretary of state candidate Greg Ballard has filed suit in Marion Superior Court asking a judge to order the Indiana Election Commission to meet before the Nov. 3 election and act on four campaign finance complaints pending against his two major-party opponents.
It is the second lawsuit this year to take a state election panel to court over a 2026 race. In August, state Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, appealed the Indiana Recount Commission’s decision to reject six absentee ballots in the Senate District 23 Republican primary. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled for Deery on Sept. 10 and ordered his name placed on the November ballot.
Ballard’s case was opened Tuesday, Oct. 20, in Marion Superior Court 3 under cause number 49D03-2610-CT-058232. The verified complaint, a motion for preliminary injunction, exhibits, and summonses for the commission, its four members and the Office of the Indiana Attorney General were file-stamped at 10:06 a.m.
The complaint and motion are dated Oct. 14. Ballard announced the suit Oct. 15, when he delivered notice of it to the commission through the Indiana Election Division. As of Tuesday afternoon, the docket showed no hearing set and no appearance by the defendants.
Ballard’s motion asks the court to hear his request for a preliminary injunction no later than Oct. 20 and to order the commission to hold a public meeting on or before Oct. 26. In-person early voting began Oct. 6.
Ballard, the former two-term Indianapolis mayor, is representing himself. He is suing commission Chair Beth Boyce and members Suzannah Wilson Overholt, Karen Celestino-Horseman and John Westercamp in their official capacities. He seeks a declaratory judgment, an injunction and an order of mandate requiring the commission to meet and decide whether there is substantial reason to believe violations occurred.
Two of the complaints involve Republican Max Engling’s campaign.
David Shelton of Knox County filed the first on July 24. It alleges the Engling campaign accepted a $60,000 contribution from Hoosier Leadership for America, Inc. that exceeded the $5,000 annual limit on corporate contributions, and reported it as coming from a non-corporate source. The Engling campaign has said it refunded the money July 14.
Chris Douglas of Marion County filed the second Engling complaint Sept. 15. It alleges that a Hoosier Leadership for America event the night before the Republican state convention, at which Engling was listed as a special guest, was an unreported in-kind contribution.
The other two complaints involve Democrat Beau Bayh’s campaign. Danny K. Shields of Monroe County alleges in a Sept. 17 complaint that events Bayh has attended were unreported in-kind contributions. Michael Neal of Hamilton County alleges unreported in-kind contributions tied to Democratic Party events and printed materials lacking required disclaimers.
The commission last met July 24, according to the suit, and its website listed no scheduled meetings as of Oct. 10. The suit notes the commission met before the general election in 2022 and 2024 to take up campaign finance matters.
Under state law, the chair calls commission meetings. The vice chair may call one with the written approval of the other two members. Citing an Indianapolis Star report, the suit says Overholt and Celestino-Horseman have stated publicly that the commission should hear every complaint filed with it.
Ballard does not ask the court to decide the complaints, only that the commission take them up. He also asks the court to shorten the defendants’ time to respond and to require no bond, or only a nominal one.
The motion argues that the governor’s power to order the commission to meet is discretionary and does not displace the court’s authority.
