Greg Ballard delivers Election Night speech

Submitted

Independent Indiana Secretary of State Candidate Greg Ballard gave the following speech at his Election Night Watch Party on Tuesday evening.

Welcome to the beginning.

The start of a new day in Indiana politics.

This campaign will leave a mark, not just on Indiana, but on the entire country.

Today, Hoosiers sent a message. Loud and clear. They deserve more and better candidates. And the way to get them is more competition at the ballot box in November.

Tonight’s results mean that the Lincoln Party is officially here.

Because of you, Hoosiers have a stronger, healthier political future.

Indiana’s closed, restrictive voting system is not what our founders intended. It does not let Hoosiers fairly choose their leaders. It’s far more restrictive than other states, on voter choice and on voter-led referendums.

When people can run outside the Republican and Democratic parties, citizens can start to trust their government again.

So tonight, we open the door. More choices in the voting booth. An easier path for anyone who wants to serve. Not two options with frequently only one real option in November. Now we can have several good ones, for every office. We’ll start small – but the goal is large.

Hoosier voters will be better served. Starting now.

And don’t let anyone tell you this campaign didn’t matter. It changed the Secretary of State’s race.

The incumbent would have been renominated if we had not acted. Our campaign was the reason this was the most talked about campaign for Secretary of State’s office ever.

Without this campaign, no one would have had the lengthy and substantive conversation about the partisanship that exists in that office.

We made an impact. And now we have the ultimate result: a new political party, one that will make it easier for independents to run without gathering the mountain of signatures that I had to get.

As most of you know, I’ve been blessed with the good fortune to serve the public, from my 23 years in the Marines to being a two-term mayor of our state’s capital city to this moment today – all with the help and support of so many Hoosiers like those in this room tonight.

However, what happened today, may have the most impactful and long-lasting effect.

This really is the beginning.

Thank you.