Independent candidate Greg Ballard delivered 41,299 verified petition signatures to the Indiana Election Division on Tuesday, clearing the threshold to appear on the November ballot for secretary of state and setting up a possible new political party for independent candidates.
The former two-term Indianapolis mayor and 23-year Marine Corps veteran turned in the signatures at the Statehouse, more than the 36,943 valid signatures that state law requires for an unaffiliated candidate to qualify for statewide office.
Campaign manager Nathan Gotch said the effort marked the first time since 1994 that a candidate without major-party status had gathered enough valid signatures to run statewide in Indiana. The campaign began collecting in March and submitted petitions to county clerks by the June 30 deadline, Gotch said. Clerks verified that signers were registered voters before returning the validated petitions to the campaign, which compiled and delivered them to the state.
Organizers reported gathering signatures in 71 of Indiana’s 92 counties, grouped into seven regions. Central Indiana produced the largest share — more than 30,000 signatures across counties including Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks, Johnson, Hancock, Boone, Morgan and Shelby — with additional concentrations in Delaware, Howard, Tippecanoe, Lake and St. Joseph counties. Ballard said the campaign collected more than 70,000 signatures in all and submitted more than 40,000.
Ballard framed his candidacy as a challenge to what he called a “two-party stranglehold” on Indiana politics, accusing both major parties of treating elections “like a private club” and writing ballot-access rules to keep independents off the ballot. He said leaders in both parties had urged him to drop out.
“The Republican and Democrat in this race were each nominated at closed party conventions by about one thousand party insiders,” Ballard said. “Today, I am delivering 41,299 verified signatures from Hoosiers who signed petitions because they are fed up, frustrated, and angry.”
If Ballard receives at least 2 percent of the vote in November, state law would recognize his effort as establishing a new party — which the campaign is calling the Lincoln Party — giving future independent candidates ballot access for the next four years without repeating the signature drive.
Positioning himself around election integrity, Ballard pledged that as secretary of state he would not endorse, fundraise for, donate to or accept donations from candidates in Indiana elections. He contrasted that with his opponents, whom he described as beholden to their parties.
Ballard said the Lincoln Party would grow “step by step,” prioritizing “quality over quantity” and recruiting problem-solving candidates from both parties who feel their party has “moved away from them.” He downplayed the need for a formal platform, saying character and competence would come first.
The former mayor cited earlier polling showing him above 20 percent statewide and leading among younger voters. As mayor from 2008 to 2016, he managed a roughly $1 billion budget and about 7,000 employees.
Verification authority rests with county clerks, not the secretary of state’s office, and Ballard said he expects the remaining state-level review to be largely administrative.
