Indiana elections chief nabs voter outreach video win

Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales, the state's highest election officer, is presented with a trophy for winning a voter outreach video contest. (Courtesy Secretary of State's Office)

Election officials from around the country chose a voter outreach video from Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales as the inaugural competition’s best, his office announced Thursday afternoon.

The National Association of Secretaries of State’s #TrustedInfo2024 contest encouraged state election officials to creatively highlight their offices as trusted sources for election information. Summer conference workshop attendees weighed content, production value and creativity.

“One of the four pillars I established when I took office was(:) we will be innovative,” Morales said in a news release. “… This video is just another example of how we are utilizing creative methods to amplify positive, encouraging, messages to Hoosier voters.”

He thanked his communications team for leading the video project said he was “proud to bring the trophy home” to Indiana.

In the video, Morales touches on classic Hoosier cultural elements: basketball, corn, hospitality and the Indianapolis 500 race. He also pokes fun at himself while shooting an airball on a basketball court.

“Most importantly, here in Indiana, we are trusted to hold safe and secure elections,” Morales says.

Speaking from the Statehouse’s interior balcony, and from the House chamber, he highlights legislation passed during his tenure: an expansion of voter identification requirements to mail-in ballot applications, more stringent proof of citizenship provisions, a ban on private election-related funding and stronger legal protections for election workers.

He also emphasizes Indiana’s use of paper audit trails in elections, grants made to local officials for election improvements, and an election security education campaign.

“It’s more than a hashtag,” Morales says of #TrustedInfo2024. “It’s a responsibility.”

The general election is Tuesday, November 5, 2024.