Local election office catches 10 fake voter signatures on Ballard campaign petition

Former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s campaign for Indiana Secretary of State is under fire after one of the campaign’s volunteers allegedly submitted 10 fake voter signatures in Hamilton County.

Ballard is running as an independent but under the Lincoln Party label, and more than 37,000 verified voter signatures are required for him to appear on the ballot in November’s general election. The campaign has collected more than 35,000 signatures as of press time.

Hamilton County Election Office officials confirmed the identity of the volunteer and have referred the matter to law enforcement.

Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Mario Massillamany is calling for prosecution of the volunteer, as well an investigation by the Indiana State Police.

Massillamany

“We were made aware of this when the [Hamilton County] Election Office referred this to state police,” Massillamany told The Reporter. “We’re asking that both State Police and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office not only to investigate but also prosecute this to the fullest extent of the law.”

Ballard responded following calls for an investigation into who he characterizes as a “rogue individual” involved with his campaign.

“This is the system working exactly the way it’s supposed to,” Ballard said. “It’s why all signatures are verified by the counties and why each signature gatherer has to sign each petition sheet attesting to the validity of the signatures on it. The campaign is committed to following all state and federal election laws. As soon as we learned of this issue, we ended this rogue individual’s association with the campaign. The 10 signatures in question represent 0.02 percent of the more than 35,000 signatures our team has already turned in.”

Additionally, Massillamany encourages election officials in all Indiana counties to review all signatures submitted by the Ballard campaign, and he says the Indiana Election Division should flag and audit petition pages submitted by the same volunteer across multiple counties.

“The irony cannot be overstated,” Massillamany said in a statement. “Greg Ballard is running for the very office charged with protecting Indiana’s elections, and a volunteer on his campaign has been caught committing election fraud. If you cannot run an honest petition drive, you have no business running the office that safeguards our elections … I am urging every county election officer in Indiana to put the Ballard campaign’s petition pages under a microscope. Where there is one forged page, there may be many more.”

Massillamany warns Hoosiers to exercise caution if approached to sign any ballot access petition. Voters should verify who is asking them to sign, ensure their information is recorded accurately, and never sign a partially completed form. Blank fields give a dishonest collector the opportunity to fabricate information after the fact.

“If someone approaches you with a petition, ask who they are and who they represent,” Massillamany said. “Make sure every line is filled in before you sign. Hoosiers deserve to know their name and signature are being used honestly – not to commit fraud.”