by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, Esq.
I can scare you with the following sentence.
There are less than 30 days before early voting begins in Indiana.
Thousands of Hoosiers will soon start heading to the polls in what, by our recollection, is shaping up to be one of the most contested primaries in Indiana history. And the captain of this vast electoral ship is Edward Smith — oops, Secretary of State Diego Morales.
Smith, of course, was the captain of the Titanic. My bad.
But the way things have been going election-wise in Indiana these days, maybe we should be monitoring for icebergs.
Since January, Indy Politics has reported on a series of election administration stories involving the Secretary of State’s office. Individually, they may seem like technical issues. Taken together, they paint a picture of an office facing growing scrutiny over how parts of Indiana’s election system are being run.
It started with something small, literally.
Earlier this year, Indy Politics reported in “The Tiny Signature That Could Rattle Indiana’s Ballot” that the Secretary of State’s office had appointed a group of “special deputies” authorized to swear in candidates filing for office.
Those deputies are legally permitted to administer the oath required when candidates file their paperwork. The issue wasn’t that the deputies existed. The question was transparency.
When candidates file for office in Indiana, their paperwork must be sworn before someone legally authorized to administer that oath. If that step isn’t handled properly, it can raise questions about whether the filing itself is technically valid.
Until questions were raised by Indy Politics, there was no publicly available list identifying who those special deputies were.
After those questions were asked, the Secretary of State’s office released the list.
In election law, small details matter. A missing signature. An improperly administered oath. A filing that doesn’t quite follow the rules.
Those kinds of issues can end up determining whether someone appears on the ballot.
Then came something more serious.
Friday the Marion County Election Board voted to refer Morales to the state inspector general over questions about whether state-produced video footage had been used in campaign materials. The issue centered on footage recorded during an official visit to the Marion County Election Service Center that later appeared in a campaign advertisement.
Using state resources for campaign purposes could violate Indiana campaign law. Morales has denied wrongdoing.
A referral doesn’t determine guilt, of course. That’s not what it’s for. But it does mean local election officials believed the issue was serious enough to warrant review by state ethics authorities.
The situation took another unusual turn when Morales was informed he would be limited to the public areas of the Marion County Election Service Center and would not have access to staff work areas inside the facility — a restriction rarely applied to a statewide elected official responsible for overseeing Indiana elections.
And now there’s the technology question. Ugh!!!
Last month, we reported concerns about a potential problem involving electronic poll books — the devices counties use to check voters in at polling locations.
According to election officials and documents reviewed by Indy Politics, a new voter residency verification requirement adopted by the legislature in 2024 may be creating complications inside the Statewide Voter Registration System.
Under the law, certain voters must have their residency verified if they registered through specific channels, including handgun permit applications, social service agencies, or third-party voter registration drives.
When those voters appear at the polls, the electronic poll book is supposed to flag the voter record so poll workers know additional steps may be required before issuing a ballot.
In theory, it’s a safeguard.
In practice, election officials say those flags may be causing certain electronic poll book systems to freeze when voter records are accessed.
If that happens, the feature designed to enforce the law could end up slowing or disrupting voter check-in.
The issue resurfaced this week during a meeting of the Marion County Election Board, where officials said they were still waiting for confirmation that the state had rolled back certain code requirements tied to the residency verification flags.
Meanwhile, counties across Indiana are preparing for the primary. Ultimately, all of these systems fall under the responsibility of the Secretary of State.
Which brings us back to the calendar.
There are less than 30 days before early voting begins.
So as Indiana’s election ship heads toward the start of voting season, here’s hoping everything is working the way it’s supposed to.
Because if something goes wrong, we may all end up looking around for the Carpathia or at least the Pinafore.
Abdul-Hakim Shabazz is the editor and publisher of Indy Politics. He is also an attorney licensed in Indiana and Illinois.
