Democratic nominee for Indiana Secretary of State Beau Bayh discussed low voting participation, costs of living and other concerns Wednesday afternoon in a town hall hosted by the Bloomington Press Club.
The event, which was held at Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington, was open to the public and featured networking and a Q-and-A with Beau Bayh as part of his campaign. The event began with Bayh introducing himself to each event participant individually, emphasizing his hopes to increase voter participation within the state.
“I’d like to use this office as a means to increase participation in civic life in our state,” Bayh said. “I’ve had the privilege, during this campaign, going to 84 of the 92 counties.”
Bayh won the Democratic nomination May 30, 2026, with 1,385 or 61% of the votes, becoming the third generation of his family to run for Indiana office.
Bayh is the son of Evan Bayh, former Indiana governor and U.S. senator, and the grandson of Birch Bayh, former speaker of the Indiana House and U.S. senator. Before running, he served in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry officer, rising to the rank of captain and graduating from the Scout Sniper Unit Leader’s course.
After his honorable discharge in 2023, Bayh earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and served as a judicial law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He currently practices law in Indianapolis as a commercial litigation associate at MacGill PC.
If elected as Indiana secretary of state, Bayh would manage state elections, business registrations and financial regulations. The current Indiana secretary of state is Diego Morales, who was elected in 2022.
When discussing the current secretary of state, Bayh focused on his commitment to all Indiana residents.
“He views politics as a tribal sport, I don’t see it that way,” Bayh said. “I want to be a secretary of state of not just Democrats, but of Independents and Republicans too.”
According to his campaign website, Bayh plans to “fight to protect Hoosier taxpayers, clean up corruption and insider dealing, and stand up for the rights of Hoosier voters,” among other issues.
During the town hall, residents question Bayh on his stance about voting registration, including the recent ban on the use of public university student identification cards for voting.
“I don’t agree within our state to restrict the use of student IDS to vote,” Bayh said. “There’s been no evidence, even alleged, that students are fraudulently voting and I think, given that fact, we ought to let students at schools like IU participate using their student IDs.”
All secretary of state candidates will convene for a conversation at the Indy Chamber’s HobNob legislative forum Wednesday night.
The general election is Nov. 3, 2026, with early voting opportunities beginning Oct. 6 to Nov. 2, 2026. Those voting through mail should turn in their ballots by election day.
“I want to build something better here, and I hope the folks on campus see it the same way, and I’m looking forward to meeting as many of them as I can,” Bayh said.
