FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HAMILTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN CALLS FOR PROSECUTION OF BALLARD CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER CAUGHT SUBMITTING FRAUDULENT PETITION SIGNATURES
Massillamany Also Urges All 92 County Election Officials to Carefully Vet Ballard Petition Pages
FISHERS, Indiana, June 18, 2026 — Hamilton County Republican Chairman Mario Massillamany today called on the Indiana State Police and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office to investigate and prosecute a volunteer for Greg Ballard’s Secretary of State campaign who was caught submitting fraudulent petition signatures. Hamilton County election officials confirmed the volunteer’s identity and are simultaneously referring the matter to law enforcement.
Election officials discovered an entire page of ten (10) forged signatures submitted as part of the Ballard campaign’s effort to collect the roughly 37,000 verified voter signatures required to place Ballard on the November ballot as the “Lincoln Party” candidate for Secretary of State — the office responsible for protecting Indiana’s elections.
“The irony cannot be overstated. 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 calling on the Indiana State Police and the Hamilton County Prosecutor to move swiftly, and 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.”
— Mario Massillamany, Chairman, Hamilton County Republican Party
Massillamany is urging the following actions:
1. The Indiana State Police and Hamilton County Prosecutor to promptly investigate and prosecute the volunteer responsible.
2. All 92 Indiana county election officials to conduct heightened review of all Ballard campaign petition pages, cross-referencing signatures against voter rolls before certifying any pages as valid.
3. The Indiana Election Division to flag and audit petition pages from the same collector across multiple counties.
Massillamany is also warning 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.”
MEDIA CONTACT:
Hamilton County Republican Party
Mario Massillamany, Chairman
Ph. 317-432-3443
mario@hamiltoncountygop.org
www.hamiltoncountygop.org
