Latest news with #DiegoMorales
Indianapolis Star
6 days ago
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
How much did Diego Morales spend on travel? His campaign finance report has details
Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales often catches flak for his jet-setting. His latest campaign finance report provides some insight into how much of that he considers for campaign purposes ― and how much it costs. The largest of his travel-related expenses reported is a $1,300 flight purchased about a month before his May trip to Hungary, though his campaign says that that particular line item was for "travel related to other campaign activities." That's just half of the overall amount he spent on air travel in the first six months of the year, during which he spent time and money on campaign expenses in numerous states outside Indiana. Morales raised nearly $160,000 in the first half of 2025, and enters the second half of the year with $900,000 in the bank. All the money he raised this year came in after May 1, when he announced his reelection campaign; shortly thereafter, two potential challengers emerged in Knox County Clerk David Shelton and former gubernatorial candidate Jamie Reitenour, who both have filed exploratory committees. Neither have reported raising any money. The expensive air travel was just one of IndyStar's findings from an analysis of his most recent campaign finance report. The $1,300 Delta Airlines expense is dated April 7, and the Hungary trip happened during the last week of May. Morales and his wife traveled there on what his office previously labeled "personal time," though he also spoke at CPAC Hungary about his role as secretary of state. Social media posts show Morales "enjoying some personal time in Europe" visiting family with his wife, Sidonia, who is Hungarian, as well as meeting with local dignitaries and speaking at CPAC Hungary. In response to criticism and questions over who paid for this trip, Morales wrote on social media that this was a "personal trip" and that CPAC covered the costs. In an email Thursday, his campaign reiterated that CPAC covered the trip costs through their Center for Fundamental Rights. It did not respond to a follow-up question asking where this $1,300 flight was to. More: Secretary of State Diego Morales gets flak for overseas travel. Is he breaking any rules? A quick search on Delta's website shows round trip tickets between Indianapolis and Budapest can cost anywhere from $700-$1,300 per person. Further, the Minnesota-St. Paul airport is a often a layover stop for this flight, and he got a meal from that airport on May 27 ― and a Facebook post later that day shows him in a meeting with local officials in Hungary. He also paid $240 on March 7 to U.S. Customs to get "precheck for air travel," shortly before a separate trip to India that month. While state law says that campaign money "may not be used for primarily personal purposes," campaign money can be used for "activity related to service in an elected office." Morales has repeatedly made the case that he'll always take opportunities that arise to represent and endorse Indiana as secretary of state, no matter where he is in the world ― though the mixture of business, personal and campaign-appearing activities amid Morales' overseas travel to both India and Hungary this year has drawn him critics from across the political spectrum. Morales' largest contribution this period comes from a political action committee with only two reported funders, one of whom is Kelley Automotive of Fort Wayne, where Morales' $90,000 state vehicle was purchased. Hoosiers for Good Government PAC, a political action committee created in 2023 by now-Allen County Commissioner Ronald Turpin, gave Morales $20,000 on June 30. This PAC has only reported contributions from two funders: $10,000 from Kelley Automotive of Fort Wayne and $60,000 from Ambassador Enterprises LLC ― a private equity firm founded by the parents of former gubernatorial candidate Eric Doden and for whom Turpin was a senior vice president. This PAC has only ever given two donations: $5,000 to a Fort Wayne mayoral candidate Tom Didier in 2023, and this large contribution to Morales. Here are Morales' other top donors: Here are the largest line items on his expense sheet:
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indiana to check voter rolls for noncitizens with revamped federal system
Indiana will soon be scanning voter rolls for noncitizens after receiving access to a revamped federal system, Secretary of State Diego Morales announced on July 7. The move comes after Morales and Attorney General Todd Rokita asked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for help in verifying the citizenship of 600,000 voters less than a month before the 2024 general election. Voting rights advocates denounced the announcement at the time, fearing it would disenfranchise eligible voters who don't have easy access to the documents required to prove citizenship. The agency, operating under President Joe Biden's administration at the time, never granted the request. The information now available to Indiana is called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, data system, which was overhauled with help from the Department of Government Efficiency beginning in April to eliminate fees and allow for easier mass checks. 'As someone who knows firsthand what it means to earn U.S. citizenship, I deeply value the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship — especially the right to vote. This agreement is another step in safeguarding the rights of every eligible Hoosier voter and reflects our commitment to protecting the integrity of our elections,' said Morales, who is a naturalized citizen from Guatemala, in a news release. Voters who are flagged by the system and cannot have their citizenship verified by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will be notified via mail and given 30 days to provide proof of citizenship, according to House Enrolled Act 1264. Some citizens may receive such notification, as those who registered to vote before 2005 did not have to provide their Social Security number or state-issued ID. The 2024 law defines proof of citizenship as a birth certificate, passport, naturalization document or naturalization number. Legible photocopies are also acceptable. If the individual is unable to provide documentation, they can appeal to the county election board. The board's decision will be forwarded to the county voter registration office, which will ensure records reflect the verdict. It's unclear how the revamped data system and its partnerships with states will impact federal immigration enforcement efforts. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not respond to IndyStar's request for comment by publication, including whether it will use the new collaboration to detain, deport or investigate undocumented immigrants. The lack of information has generated some concern, including from a state election official who told National Public Radio (NPR) they worried the information would be used to aid President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign. When asked if the efforts would be used to facilitate immigration enforcement or criminal prosecution, a spokesperson for the Indiana Secretary of State's office said local election officials should forward evidence of noncitizen voting to law enforcement. Julia Vaughn of Common Cause Indiana, an advocacy group that focuses on voting rights and government transparency, said SAVE was never intended for verifying voter eligibility; instead, it's historically been used to determine whether someone can receive government benefits by checking their immigration status. Data contained within SAVE is sometimes out-of-date and inaccurate, she said, presenting a real possibility that citizens will be mistaken as noncitizens. She pointed to a similar program from Kansas called Crosscheck, which compares voter registration data with lists from participating states and looks for matches that prove someone is registered twice. But a 2017 study found 99.5% of voters with name and date of birth matches within the Crosscheck system were in fact two separate individuals, creating the risk that someone could be falsely identified as an ineligible voter. The system led to a class action lawsuit that alleged the program exposed sensitive personal information of voters suspected to be ineligible. One of the plaintiffs, for example, had parts of his Social Security number shared over unencrypted emails with the state of Florida because a man who lived there shared the same name as the plaintiff. While the Indiana process allows potentially misidentified voters to prove their citizenship, merely missing a piece of mail could cost someone to lose their opportunity to vote. Vaughn said she fears people who are cleared from the voter rolls may only find out when they go to the polls. The risk is not worth it to Vaughn, who called the concept of noncitizen voters a 'popular misperception.' There is little evidence to support widespread voting by noncitizens. An audit in Georgia found a little more than 1,600 potential noncitizens attempted to register to vote from 1997 to Feb. 2022, but none were successful. 'It's a continuation of misguided public policy based on myths,' Vaughn said, 'and really doesn't address the very real election issues that we have here in Indiana, which is evidenced by our very low voter turnout.' Contact Marissa Meador at mmeador@ or find her on X at @marissa_meador. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana to remove noncitizens from voter rolls by using federal data
Indianapolis Star
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana to check voter rolls for noncitizens with revamped federal system
Indiana will soon be scanning voter rolls for noncitizens after receiving access to a revamped federal system, Secretary of State Diego Morales announced on July 7. The move comes after Morales and Attorney General Todd Rokita asked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for help in verifying the citizenship of 600,000 voters less than a month before the 2024 general election. Voting rights advocates denounced the announcement at the time, fearing it would disenfranchise eligible voters who don't have easy access to the documents required to prove citizenship. The agency, operating under President Joe Biden's administration at the time, never granted the request. The information now available to Indiana is called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, data system, which was overhauled with help from the Department of Government Efficiency beginning in April to eliminate fees and allow for easier mass checks. 'As someone who knows firsthand what it means to earn U.S. citizenship, I deeply value the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship — especially the right to vote. This agreement is another step in safeguarding the rights of every eligible Hoosier voter and reflects our commitment to protecting the integrity of our elections,' said Morales, who is a naturalized citizen from Guatemala, in a news release. Voters who are flagged by the system and cannot have their citizenship verified by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will be notified via mail and given 30 days to provide proof of citizenship, according to House Enrolled Act 1264. Some citizens may receive such notification, as those who registered to vote before 2005 did not have to provide their Social Security number or state-issued ID. The 2024 law defines proof of citizenship as a birth certificate, passport, naturalization document or naturalization number. Legible photocopies are also acceptable. If the individual is unable to provide documentation, they can appeal to the county election board. The board's decision will be forwarded to the county voter registration office, which will ensure records reflect the verdict. It's unclear how the revamped data system and its partnerships with states will impact federal immigration enforcement efforts. Neither the Indiana Secretary of State's office nor the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services responded to IndyStar's request for comment by publication, including whether it will use the new collaboration to detain, deport or investigate undocumented immigrants. The lack of information has generated some concern, including from a state election official who told National Public Radio (NPR) they worried the information would be used to aid President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign. This story may be updated.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indiana SOS signs federal agreement to identify noncitizens on voter rolls
Indiana's voter rolls can now be compared to a federal database to verify citizenship following an interagency agreement. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales announced Monday that his office had struck a deal with the federal government to scrutinize Indiana's voter rolls to identify noncitizens living in the Hoosier State. The agreement with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, allows the state to access a database to verify citizenship of individuals on the state's voter rolls. Indiana officials ask federal government to verify citizenship of 585K registered voters In the past, opponents have argued that the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, wasn't designed for checking massive datasets, but rather for one-by-one verification. Using it at a large scale could accidentally flag some naturalized citizens, they worry. Morales, a naturalized citizen born in Guatemala, celebrated the move in a statement. 'As someone who knows firsthand what it means to earn U.S. citizenship, I deeply value the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship— especially the right to vote. This agreement is another step in safeguarding the rights of every eligible Hoosier voter and reflects our commitment to protecting the integrity of our elections,' he said. The office's release said that voters registered without having their citizenship confirmed by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will be notified by mail and have the opportunity to confirm their citizenship status, as outlined by a 2024 bill that ultimately became law. The new access follows a joint lawsuit filed by Morales and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who sued to access the SAVE data to aide voter verification efforts in April. In October 2024, weeks before the November presidential and gubernatorial election, the duo asked the federal government to let them use SAVE to scrutinize over 585,000 registered voters, or 12% of all Hoosiers on Indiana's voter rolls. The review never occurred 'Our Constitution and laws are clear — only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in our elections. This is not about politics. It's about protecting the sanctity of the ballot and ensuring Hoosiers can trust that their votes are counted and their elections are secure,' Morales continued. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Boone County Clerk Lisa Bruder attends D.C. election conference
Boone County Clerk Lisa Bruder recently visited Washington D.C. at the invitation of Secretary of State Diego Morales for a national conference on election integrity. Bruder was among 11 Hoosier county clerks to attend the conference sponsored by Election Assistance Commission and VSTOP, Voting System Technical Oversight Program. Clerks from all over the nation shared best practices for election system testing and management to ensure reliability, transparency, and integrity of elections and election system testing, according to conference literature. Morales paid for the Hoosier clerk's trips and said the conference focused on election integrity, safeguarding elections, and building stronger partnerships with the Donald J. Trump administration. Bruder said discussion also focused on engaging local voters, increasing voter turnout, and election accessibility locally, among other topics. 'I feel like I've come away with a better understanding of the tools and resources available to counties, and I had a great time getting to know the other clerks,' Bruder said. Discussions included the use of technology, such as electronic voting machines, during elections. Boone County has for years used electronic voting machines and ballots, but a contingent of conservative voters lobbied unsuccessfully to have the county return to paper ballots for the 2024 presidential election. One of their concerns was possible voter fraud. The Boone County Election Board refused the request for paper ballots. And Bruder, in an abundance of caution, asked VSTOP to audit the county's 2024 primary election for accuracy and transparency. VSTOP scrutinized contested races and found the primary to be 99.9% accurate, the highest score possible without testing every category, Bruder said. Bruder said she is committed to transparency and continuous improvement.
