New, bipartisan group backs Wells for secretary of state

ReCenter Indiana, a new, pro-democracy citizens’ group, is making its very first endorsement, supporting Destiny Wells for secretary of state.

A bipartisan, nonprofit organization, ReCenter Indiana was established this past summer to shift Indiana politics away from the extremes and to motivate more Hoosiers to vote.

Wells, a Democrat, has served as deputy Indiana attorney general and associate corporation counsel for the City of Indianapolis. She is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.

“Many Hoosiers may not even know who our secretary of state is,” said Don Knebel, president of ReCenter Indiana. “But secretary of state is the most significant office on Indiana ballots this November – because the winner will oversee how elections are run throughout the state for at least the next four years.”

The Republican and Libertarian candidates for secretary of state in next month’s election both are calling for an audit in each of Indiana’s 92 counties in future elections before the results are certified.

That idea is unrealistic, “given the cost, length of time and complexity involved,” said Adrianne Slash, a Republican and co-chair of the ReCenter Indiana candidate selection committee. But more importantly, she said, it’s unwarranted.

“Diego Morales belongs to a group that was founded on the false belief that the 2020 election was stolen,” Slash said. “That’s despite the fact that election officials across the country plus the Trump administration’s own cybersecurity agency declared that the 2020 election ‘was the most secure in American history.’

“The secretary of state’s office must continue to serve as the source of trusted truth in fair elections for all who live in Indiana,” Slash said.

“I believe that a secretary of state needs to always be operating off of facts and evidence and not conspiracy theories,” candidate Wells said.

Morales did not respond to repeated interview requests from ReCenter Indiana. In addition, he has avoided public appearances with his opponents, including a debate televised statewide last night.

ReCenter Indiana’s board of directors voted unanimously to endorse Wells after researching and interviewing her and Libertarian nominee Jeff Maurer. Video interviews with both Wells and Maurer can be seen at https://www.recenterindiana.org/.

Besides maintaining election security and educating the public about it, Wells said her priorities are to make campaign finance more transparent and to improve voter turnout.

For years, she noted, Indiana’s percentage of registered voters who actually vote has been among the lowest in the nation. She said that’s because of state laws that make voting difficult and because of legislative district maps that let politicians choose their voters rather than the other way around.

Partisan redistricting “has taken away competition, and so people believe that, ‘Why should I go vote? My district’s already skewed in one particular way, so I can’t really effectuate change by casting a ballot,” Wells said.

“For me, the most impactful thing Destiny Wells told us was that Hoosiers aren’t worried that their votes aren’t counted. Hoosiers just don’t think their votes count,” said Linda Heitzman, a Democrat and the other co-chair of ReCenter Indiana’s candidate selection committee. “I think that is an accurate diagnosis of the state of affairs in Indiana.”

“I am honored to have the endorsement of ReCenter Indiana,” Wells said. “ReCenter Indiana is committed to preserving democracy for our children and grandchildren, and I am committed to protecting it, too.”

Besides overseeing elections, the secretary of state’s office charters new businesses, regulates the securities industry, commissions notaries public, registers trademarks, and licenses motor vehicle dealerships throughout Indiana.

Today is the last day for Hoosiers to register for the Nov. 8 general election. Voters may check their registration status at https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/voter-information/register-to-vote/ and register online until 11:59 tonight.

In-person absentee voting begins tomorrow. Locations for early voting are listed at https://indianavoters.in.gov/.