Ballard Volunteer Accused of Forged Signatures

FISHERS, Ind — A volunteer gathering petition signatures for independent Indiana Secretary of State candidate Greg Ballard is accused of submitting a petition page containing 10 forged signatures, according to Hamilton County election officials.

Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Mario Massillamany is calling for an investigation by Indiana State Police and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office. Election officials confirmed the volunteer’s identity and referred the matter to law enforcement.

The signatures were submitted as part of Ballard’s effort to collect roughly 37,000 verified voter signatures needed to qualify for Indiana’s November ballot.

Massillamany urged election officials statewide to closely review petition pages submitted by the campaign, saying voters deserve confidence in the petition process.

“The irony cannot be overstated,” Massillamany said. “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.”

“Where there is one forged page, there may be many more,” he added.

Ballard’s campaign said it immediately cut ties with the subcontractor once it learned of the issue and emphasized that counties verify all signatures before candidates qualify for the ballot.

“The campaign is committed to following all state and federal election laws,” the campaign said in a statement. “The ten signatures in question represent 0.02% of the more than 35,000 signatures our team has already turned in.”

The matter remains under review by law enforcement.