Secretary of State.

Candidates spar in second debate.

Voluntary intoxication law discussed and more Hoosiers may be denied bail.

From the television studios of Wfyi Public Media.

It's Indiana Week in Review for the week ending October 9th, 2026.

Indiana Weekend Review is produced by Wfyi in association with Indiana Public Broadcasting stations.

Additional support is provided by PA Ritchey.

Indiana's secretary of state candidates sparred Wednesday over who is best positioned to serve in the role.

Candidates discussed a number of issues, including the independence of the office and voter fraud.

Ben Thorpe has more.

All four candidates participated in the debate, where they reiterated many of the same promises they've made throughout the campaign.

Candidates sparred over issues of non-citizen voting.

Republican Max angling said he has a strong position on ensuring only U.S.

citizens are voting.

The answer is an absolute yes, and I'm the only candidate that has said that.

Independent Greg Ballard strongly disagreed.

That's a ludicrous assertion.

We all think that Democrat Beau Biden pointed to years of office mismanagement under the current secretary, and Libertarian Lori Schilling's double down on the need to overhaul the secretary of state website.

So is the secretary of state contest as competitive as it seems?

[SN1.1] It's the first question for our Indiana Week in Review panel: Political strategist, Elise Shrock Republican, Jim Merritt Oseye Boyd, editor in chief at Mirror Indy Caroline Beck, government reporter at WFYI I'm Jill Sheridan, managing editor at WFYI.

So, Elise, any takeaways from this week's debate?

I thought this is really interesting to have a full debate stage as full as it was.

I thought it was particularly interesting that only three out of four candidates called for an independent audit.

You know, from lots of discussions with me on government accountability, I really think the only way to truly get transparency and accountability is that independent audit.

So given everything that we've seen coming out of that office, you saw Schilling ballot and buy call for that independent audit.

Max England just said let's have the inspector general handle it.

Anyone could call for that.

So if we wanted to do that now, he could.

but that's kind of like the baseline.

We should be doing more.

So I think Hoosiers should expect more there.

but I really think that every day voter is just now getting to know these candidates.

you have someone who's work kind of behind the scenes and angling.

You have someone who has a family name, but they're trying to figure out what kind of buy, Beau will be.

And then you have, Lori Schilling and then a mayor.

you have Greg Ballard, who I think folks kind of know or they're familiar with.

The type of person a mayor is kind of comes off as the adult in the room.

So this is going to be truly interesting.

It is an interesting race.

And, you know, speaking of, our current secretary of state, you know, Maxine did say really, I'm the only one that's done anything because I have ousted him, you know?

But I mean, he was kind of placed in that position.

your reaction to this race is, is it's just kind of phenomenal because they talk about everything, but the what the secretary of state actually does and, and, and as well as the fact that, the, the Republican Maxine, needs to talk more about what he's going to do, who he is because people don't know who he is.

outside central Indiana, Greg Ballard is unknown.

but by, I think there are a lot of parts of the Democrat Party that just don't like him because he's not liberal enough.

He's almost like a Republican.

Like his his dad, govern Indiana.

And so it's, it's been an interesting race in this, in this debate, to answer the question.

they talk about everything, but and, and, and, and and the idea of a secretary of state's race having all this money flowing in to the candidates, meaning Bobby.

it money is is kind of the mother's milk of politics and, and and Bo is he's got it.

He's got most of it.

He's.

I have there for sure, you know, but we have seen some polling now where she, And it, it does show that, you know, the Republican, the Democrat angling and bi are pretty close.

And Jim makes the point that, you know, maybe outside of central Indiana, people do not know, Greg Ballard, a former Indianapolis mayor, but he's the one that kind of, like, brought up a lot of ideas that are based around of the secretary of state office.

Do you think this contest is going to be, any closer than what we're seeing in the polls?

I agree with everyone.

It's going to be interesting.

It is interesting because for one, for me, throughout my lifetime, I've not paid this office much attention.

You know, so it is not to say that it is not office to pay attention to, but it's not one of those offices you think about is like is going to have is not a policy making office, it's an administrative office.

So therefore it kind of tends to be one of those offices or kind of like in the background, but because of current events, it is now very much in the forefront.

And to your point, I did think we're not really talking about what the Office does.

because the office does not do a lot of things that people really, really think about.

but we are talking about websites that that's what I got from shilling websites.

we need to redo the I said, man, this website must really be horrible.

Not like she does not like the website.

of voter ballot guide from, from Ballard.

but I just can't bring it home.

The point about the $90,000 in nepotism, and in England, just about, he's the only one that's going to actually, make sure people can be can legally vote, which we already have that.

So I thought people were are probably just now getting to see the differences.

And there's not tons of differences.

really, because the job is just go in and do the job.

It's just like, who do you think is going to be better to make sure that we are vote?

I mean, that's the biggest thing, I think who's going to be the person that will make sure that voting is not fraudulent in Indiana?

And that was something that we saw during the Bay, you know, that, that, Ballard was quick to jump on and ludicrous to say, of course, we don't want any non-citizens, voting in the elections and that everyone agrees on that point.

But after the fact, you know, they had some more comments to make.

And then you were here that evening.

Yeah.

Yeah.

After the debate happened, you know, they brought each candidate back to talk to reporters for their own press briefing.

And that was when it was interesting for me to see that, Ballard actually did mention his experience as mayor.

And because we didn't really hear any of that during the debate.

And so he really emphasized that he's one of the only candidates, on this field that has like years and years of experience actually serving office and putting in force policy and, you know, Max angling, you know, continue to, press back on like, this is I am going to, you know, remove all the corruption that we saw under Diego Morales, the current secretary of state, and, you know, improve that office, because I will be coming in.

that's still pretty light in terms of policy, what he actually wants to do.

and Bobby is also trying to, you know, go back and say, I'm going to fix what's been wrong with this office.

and also, interestingly, you know, not really trying to stay away from, you know, saying Democrat, I am the Democratic candidate too much.

He wants to ensure voters that he's just going to be what's best for the office.

and so, yeah, I think it was interesting to see how each candidate played to their, you know, strengths and again, pretty light on the terms of policy and what they want to enact.

I do think Ballard was the most forward when it comes to policy.

But even that, you know, people like to push back on his, paper voter guide that's going to cost too much money.

I don't know if that's actually true or not, but, I think that is that's something I've actually heard from voters as well.

People just want more information when it comes to voter guides every election.

So I think he's making good points.

But again, if people are going to know who he is outside of central Indiana, that's a tough question.

something that I did bring up, though, the end to a straight ticket, ballot.

And that's something that the legislature has discussed, in recent years.

And so that's something that's a, that's a policy that would be related to the secretary of State office.

Yeah.

And I think that, there has there has been a lot of discussion.

I think, you know, in past races, Destiny Wells has brought this up before that Indiana is really purple, but it has a voter turnout problem.

Yeah.

and so we need bold ideas for how, we can really help folks, be robust voters even when we talk about, low turnout voting.

It's not even just that people aren't voting.

It is that folks are going to the polls and they're kind of like, who's on the ballot?

so things like this voter guide, whether it's paper or the app that could be developed, that would be a win.

Yeah.

And it's been a fascinating race here in Indiana.

Well, it's time now for viewer feedback.

Every week we pose an unscientific online poll question.

This week's question Should Indiana and straight ticket voting answer yes or no?

The last question posed to viewers do vote centers help increase voter turnout in Indiana?

82% saying yes and 18% answering no.

If you would like to take part in the poll, go to Wfyi Mortgage Wire and look for the poll.

An alleged rape of a female student at Cornell University fraternity house has grabbed national headlines, but because the student was voluntarily drunk, it may have trouble in New York courts.

As Ethan Sand reports, Indiana has a similar law.

Voluntary intoxication laws say being high or drunk is only a defense if a person either ingested substances without consent or knowledge.

17 other states have similar laws on the books.

But Jodi Madera, a law professor at Indiana University's Our School, says the law as written, doesn't cover all the ways it's applied.

A separate state law makes it a crime to have sex with someone who is disabled or deficient, which can cover a lot.

If the statute doesn't say what you know.

So mentally disabled or deficient means, then cases will.

Madera says what matters is the degree of inebriation in the victim's actual behaviors and capacity.

Criminal cases also require a higher burden of proof than civil cases or title nine complaints, which the plaintiff at Cornell also pursued.

So, Jim, do you think Indiana's voluntary intoxication law is functioning well?

I think it is.

I think in in regards to the criminal aspect, I think it is, back in 20 to 20, 2012, we passed the Indiana's lifeline law that allowed minors who are in a situation where somebody is overserved.

They could call or text 911 and have immunity.

Well, the next year, led by Christina Hill, then state representative Christina Christina Christina.

Christina Hale, I work with her, and we amended the law so that if a rape has occurred and that individual goes and, reports it in there, she she she is, intoxicated.

Well, she she gets immunity, and, I thought that was a really important thing.

Hale and I have worked on, on rape issues for a long time now, and, and Indiana is much better off than New York.

State of New York is one.

there's this loophole, though, that we, you know, talk about with with this law.

And it does create a higher burden of proof for the victim.

Should this should the legislature look at a fixed rate?

And I think that, because of those discussions, we have precedent in the legislature to have these difficult conversations about difficult, horrible circumstances.

and now we know, you know, we've seen largely from this horrendous case at Cornell in practice, where these loopholes, exist and where these loopholes do damage.

And like Professor Gutierrez said, there are a number of other ways.

a court of law, you know, a number of other circumstances, that could be looked at in a case.

But if we know that there is a burden of proof that has put on a victim, why not do the commonsense thing and just close this loophole?

If we have a common sense solution to, closing this loophole, let's just let's just do it.

and move on.

I surely will be advocating for that, I think.

I think a lot of common sense hears this is not an issue, that I think is one party or another.

largely due to the precedent that we have for talking about, these issues.

I do wish our consent, laws were stronger.

We've taken incremental steps, in the legislature with, Representative Lee's bill.

a couple of years ago.

We can make that stronger.

There are a number of ways that we can do better, and we should be having those conversations.

And I look forward to doing that to make sure we are keeping, victims and justice for them at the forefront.

and not saying, but she was drunk voluntarily, but she was.

And we are saying, and we can do better.

I mean, that is something that we've heard so many times.

You know, this case has obviously struck a nerve with the nation.

But, I mean, this is this is not really anything new and something that we've heard happen in Indiana.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Nothing new.

You know, federal data shows that we get reports about sexual assault and rape on campus, you know, thousands every year.

I believe there's, like, survey results out there that say 1 in 5 female students are going to experience some kind of sexual harassment assault during their time on campuses.

So this is a widespread issue that doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.

And it's interesting when you mentioned the the laws around consent, I, I've been looking at some of the reporting done it like the IU student newspaper and they have, you know, mentioned the issues around I use definition around consent and they are saying that it is the way it's worded.

It's in a way putting victim blaming back on the victim.

And so it is seems clear that we just that we still have a lot of work around how we teach young adults and kids about consent and sex in the state.

I know some people have often gone back to, you know, our sex education in Indiana.

It's very abstinence forward.

That's the primary way to do it here.

and so I think a lot of people point to that as lacking.

And then that compounds on everything.

And then we get to these situations like what happened at Cornell.

So, I think there's like issues around education, even how universities are talking about this that I think people want to see addressed, especially the kids, the young kids at, at the campuses.

I mean, it does feel like, you know, again, we've heard this so much as a time for bold action.

Do you think?

yeah.

Yeah, I think it is.

I think, this leads to a slippery slope of victim blaming, of more moral judgment here too, as well.

alcohol is legal, so.

And people can actually consume alcohol if they're of age.

So voluntary drunk, that is, that gives kind of a weird kind of place about because when you're young, 21, you're still young, you make bad decisions.

Oftentimes at 21, you don't make the best decisions.

So I think we will have to have some bold action here to figure out where this should go, how we protect people, how we don't blame the victims, how we also protect the people who are maybe accused because when alcohol is in play on either side, a lot of things can happen.

A lot of times people black out, they don't remember what happened.

I will just as a as a mother who's had kids in college, I've always been concerned about what goes on with alcohol.

just because you just never know.

Yeah.

Well, also this week, bail can only be denied in cases involving murder or treason in Indiana.

But voters could change that soon by approving a public question on this year's ballot.

Caroline Beck has more.

The first ballot question asks whether the state constitution should be changed to allow judges to deny bail.

If there's a substantial risk to community safety, prosecutors would have to show evidence of the concern for public safety, and judges would still have the final word.

Eric Grossman is an associate professor at the O'Neill school at IU Indianapolis and studies criminal justice and public safety policy.

I think the big question that voters are going to have to wrestle with, is whether or not the state should have the power to incarcerate somebody who's not been convicted of an offense because of what we believe that person might do.

Early voting is happening now in Indiana, and Election Day is November 3rd.

So Caroline has done a lot of reporting on this.

What are both sides saying?

Yeah.

So, you know, this is a process that began all the way back in 2023 to get a public question on the ballot, it has to pass the legislature two times.

And so throughout this process, you know, basically the lawmakers who are in support of this have said this is a way to increase public safety.

You know, I've talked to some prosecutors as well who are saying this will enable judges to be more proactive instead of reactive.

they think that judges hands are basically tied right now with our laws saying that we can only denied bail in these two circumstances.

So they're hoping this will increase public safety.

Those who are concerned with this being passed, like I talked to those in the public defender's office.

people at the ACLU, you know, they are just, you know, essentially worried that we're taking away people's constitutional right to bail, something that's been afforded in Indiana for over 100 years.

And so, they are worried if, you know, people are being detained before their trial starts, that will mean people will lose jobs.

They will lose access to families.

the professor I spoke to for this story also, you know, pointed me to studies that show that if an individual is detained before their trial, we see increases of guilty pleas.

we also see an increase of recidivism down the line to even though it might prevent pretrial crime beforehand, that doesn't necessarily mean it'll wash out once they are released from their conviction.

So this is a very weighty subject for both sides, very passionate about it.

I mean, she mentions, you know, the pretrial and obviously a lot of this does stem from Indianapolis and a lot of the rhetoric around people.

who are released before their trial.

what do you think here?

Like, do you think that because of the issue in Indianapolis, this has become now a statewide issue?

Oh, most things that happen here, Indianapolis become an issue.

but I do think part of what is missing from the conversation is judges have always had discretion in.

And they've always been able to have set the bail high enough where someone cannot make bail.

So I don't know if this is a necessary thing, but we are here.

but because people don't understand that you've always had the discretion.

we only have.

What happened?

Treason and murder were the only two things that you couldn't get bail for.

So you always had discretion and one of my concerns is that when people are arrested, that does not mean they actually committed the crime that's active.

They have not been tried yet.

So are people actually in jail who could be the wrong person?

are you being detained?

Are you losing the job?

Are you in jail for something like child support and losing a job that you no longer like?

All these things, losing your license.

All these things can compound and make things harder for you in the long run versus actually helping.

And the idea is to get you to serve your time.

to help you to redeem yourself and then get back out there and become productive citizen.

Do you think that this is likely to, you know, improve public safety then?

I don't know.

The, congratulations to Senator Eric Cook.

This is something that he has worked on for a long time.

And, but I disagree.

I mean, it's great to disagree and be not be disagreeable.

what I think about is the idea of a judge and the pressure on that judge.

They say that almost 15,000 OWI they're going to a year in Indiana and something that is going to affect that.

Just think about a judge who, lets somebody, out of jail who is driving intoxicated.

Well, that person goes out and drives the next night and kill somebody.

You know, that's not.

And in this amendment to the Constitution, I'm a constitutionalist.

What what also part of this are misdemeanors, not just felonies.

And so what I think should be going on is we look at aggravated assault and things like that.

not just down to the misdemeanor type.

And, I think it's a wide swath put too much pressure on judges.

they pick winners and losers.

And I just don't think that's the right thing to do.

Do you think this is likely to pass in Indiana?

I'm.

I'm worried that folks are going to get to the polls, and they're not going to understand what this is.

and that worries me.

I will be voting no for this.

I am not willing to vote a way out.

Right.

for the presumption of innocence, which is, a right that we have long enjoyed in this country.

And I think that, differentiates us from many other countries.

And that's something that I'm proud of as an American.

I think this also can make us, can conflict with other constitutional rights.

My right to protest, my right to own a gun.

you know, I can see where our constitutional rights could conflict in this way.

so I just this is this is a no for me.

Pass for me.

I'm hoping that's what we'll see.

I'm worried about folks who get to, because of our low energy around getting to the polls.

I'm worried that folks aren't going to be as educated about this.

so it's on a lot of us around the table, and, a lot of us who have been doing that work.

Thank you so much to both of you, for all of your outlets, for the educational work, to get the word out there about what this is so that, voters can make that educated choice.

Well, Indiana drivers are also loving the state's all black license plate.

Governor Mike Brown announced this week that nearly 400,000 people have purchased the plates since their launch, generating nearly $13 million in revenue.

Ben Thorpe has more.

Blackout plates were launched in August of 2025 as an optional plate that could be obtained for a $45 fee.

Governor Brown says revenue generated by the blackout license plates will be reinvested into the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

DMV Commissioner Kevin Garvey says he was surprised the plates are as popular as they have been.

We've even had folks that have said, you know what?

My car isn't even as nice as I would like for it to be, and this makes it feel and look a little bit nicer.

The revenue will go towards modernizing the agency, an effort Braun began in early 2025.

So why do you think people love these plates so much?

I am one of them.

I have a blackout plate.

It's sleek.

It's it's very, contemporary, but also classic.

and my car is black, so this is black on black, and it looks good.

Black looks good.

I mean, we did hear that, you know, from from, employees at the DMV that it makes your car just look that much cooler.

But the money is going to go back to the agency, and this is a considerable amount of money.

Yeah.

The leaders at the BMV did say that, you know, they want to make, increases to staffing, pay.

And, you know, we're already you know, our BMV here is already getting like, national recognition about being some of the best in the country.

very efficient.

They want more kiosks.

and so it seems to be producing good results for the BMV.

There is also, you know, I think some people have voiced concerns about these black license plates of being, you know, susceptible or easier for flat cameras to recognize or detect, which is something that the BMV and state police have said not.

It's not true.

And so I think that's, missed that they want to dispel out there.

But yeah, the it seems to be a popular choice among drivers.

I don't like it.

I don't like it.

License plates tell the story of Indiana.

I authored the kids first license plate.

It's raised an enormous amount of money, for defend kids against abuse.

And, I'm not changing my opinion.

Like, there's a better license plate that you can buy, so go.

Well,That's Indiana Week in Review for this week.

Our panel has been ... Political strategist, Elise Shrock Republican, Jim Merritt Oseye Boyd, editor in chief at Mirror Indy Caroline Beck, government reporter at WFYI You can find Indiana Week In Reviews podcast and episodes at wfyi.org - slash IWIR or on the PBS App.

I'm Jill Sheridan, managing editor at Wfyi.

Join us next time because a lot can happen in an Indiana week.

The views expressed are solely those of the panelists.

Indiana Week in Review is produced by Wfyi, an associate with Indiana Public Broadcasting stations.

Additional support is provided by PA Ritchey.