Indiana’s secretary of state, state auditor, and state treasurer took their oaths of office at Indiana’s Statehouse Monday.
Newly-elected Secretary of State Diego Morales said he wants to make Indiana a “national model for election confidence and integrity.”
“As I have traveled all over the state, I became convinced that citizens from Indiana expect, and have the right to expect, that election laws will be enforced in our state,” he said.
Morales has consistently made claims about increased election security, but has not elaborated on what he means by this. He has also made claims about reducing the number of early voting days in Indiana and spreading false information about the 2020 election, despite backtracking on this.
Indiana has one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country.
Morales also emphasized his commitment to making his office’s business services division “welcoming, responsive, efficient and innovative” while also “working in protecting Hoosiers hard-earned savings and investments” in his office’s securities division.
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State Auditor Tera Klutz, who won her first re-election bid, said that she wants to value all Hoosiers in her position, even those who may not agree with her politics.
“The people we serve are precious, from the least to the greatest,” she said. “The people that agree with us and the people that don't agree with us. So, I'm confident that if we remember this, we will build on our successes of making Indiana strong and resilient. But most importantly, making Indiana work for all Hoosiers.”
Klutz was appointed to the position in 2017, and acknowledged the work her office has done since but said there is more to be done.
“We revamped transparency, we developed internal controls, we rebid all of our major contracts, we implemented a brand new payroll system, a modern one that replaced an old DOS one for 30,000 employees, and the list goes on and on,” she said. “And yet there's still so much more to do.”
Newly-elected State Treasurer Daniel Elliott expressed his gratitude for his position while more than 10 family members stood behind him.
He said while Hoosiers should celebrate these appointments, there is much work to be done.
“I want to thank the people of Indiana – today is a time of celebration, a time to go to our open houses, eat our food, say hello. But tomorrow, it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work,” Elliott said.
These oaths coincide with the beginning of Indiana’s legislative session – which will last for the first few months of the year.
Contact reporter Violet at vcomberwilen@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @ComberWilen.
