Indiana SOS asks federal agencies to not engage in voter registration without state’s permission

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales is asking federal agencies and departments to not engage in voter registration without the state’s permission in response to an executive order from President Joe Biden in 2021.

According to a news release from the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office, Morales said that federal agencies and departments that operate in Indiana are not permitted in engaging in voter registration and other election activity without state authorization.

A letter, which was recently sent to federal agencies with operations in Indiana, directs them to stop engaging in election activity, the release states.

Tuesday’s announcement comes in relation to Biden’s executive order on promoting access to voting , which was signed in March 2021. According to the executive order, Biden asked federal agencies to consider ways to expand the opportunity for citizens “to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process,” including:

• Asking the head of each agency to evaluate how they can promote voter registration and participation, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law.
• Provide ways to provide access to voter registration services and vote-by-mail ballot applicatoins
• Solicit and facilitate approved, and nonpartisan, third-party organizations and state officials to provide voter registration services on agency premises.

The executive order also asked officials to modernize the Vote.gov website and encourage federal employees to vote by giving them time off to vote in federal, state, local, tribal and territorial elections, either on Election Day or through early voting. It also covered topics including:

• Ensuring access to voter registration for eligible individuals in federal custody
• Ensuring access to voting for active duty military and overseas citizens
• Ensuring equal access for voters with disabilities.

In response to this executive order, Morales said that under Indiana and federal law, agencies “must be specifically designated by the state as ‘voter registration agencies’ to lawfully offer or provide voter registration services and absentee voting assistance.” Morales stressed this is “critical” to protect election integrity.

Morales argued that voter registration drives, specifically one by the Small Business Administration, are “well-meaning” but “not authorized by Congress, contrary to state law and a distraction” from the agency’s mission.

“The amount of enthusiasm I have towards increasing our state’s voter registration and turnout numbers is immeasurable,” Morales said in the release. “Since the start of my administration, an unprecedented level of direct and financial assistance has been allocated to counties. Alongside my team, we have blanketed the Hoosier state with voter outreach efforts; from festivals to county fairs to sporting events. In anticipation of the upcoming November election, those efforts are only going to amplify.”

The release said that the office is “open” to coordinating with federal agencies regarding election activity, “subject to compliance with federal and state law, including Congressional authorization and appropriation.”

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