Indiana
'Blow the whistle': Indiana's top election official spends $35k on security guide mailings • Indiana Capital Chronicle

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Hundreds of election administrators, lawmakers, law enforcement officers and others across Indiana — and beyond— slit open heavy white cardboard boxes this spring to uncover glossy election security guides from the state’s top election official, Secretary of State (SOS) Diego Morales.
“Blow the whistle on election interference,” the thick, spiral-bound books read. They’re accompanied by whistles strung on lanyards.
The 180-page document, per SOS spokeswoman Lindsey Eaton, is “a new addition to the library of election guides produced and distributed by the state for election administrators.”
Assembling and shipping 600 guides cost a whopping $35,070. That’s $58.45 each.
Each booklet cost about $45 to print, and each lanyard with whistle and card was about $1.45, according to Eaton. Packing and shipping cost approximately $12 per guide. SOS paid for the initiative with a 2023 State Homeland Security Grant.
“Secretary Morales firmly believes there’s no price tag when it comes to the safety of our election workers,” Eaton said in written responses to a Capital Chronicle inquiry. She highlighted Morales’ three months of visits to all of the state’s 92 counties and said he’d heard “safety concerns” from the election officials he met on the way.
Poll threats and harassment
Ahead of the 2022 midterm election, rural and urban election officials alike told the Capital Chronicle they’d heard negative comments but not threats and harassment.
But abuse appears to be on the rise.
In a national survey of more than 900 election officials released this month, 38% of the officials reported having experienced abuse, harassment or threats because of their election work. That was up from 30% in 2023, according to the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice, which conducts the surveys.
Of the 16% who specifically said they’d been threatened — defined as expressions communicating an intention to harm or injure that imply imminent risk to a person’s well-being and safety — more than half said the threats were made in person. They also came in over the phone, email, social media, snail mail and more, according to the survey.
Seven in 10 respondents said they felt threats against election officials have increased since 2020, the same share as in 2023.
Indiana office-holders are paying attention.
State lawmakers approved legislation in March making it a Level 6 felony to threaten an election worker as well as to obstruct, interfere with, or injure an election worker. As for SOS?
“Leading up to the November General Election, (Morales) continues to place a major emphasis on keeping poll workers and election administrators safe,” Eaton wrote. “The election security guides and materials were designed to encourage threat awareness and informed election security and safety collaboration and response between election administrators and allied resources including state and federal emergency response agencies, local law enforcement, and local emergency response agencies.”
That’s why local law enforcement agencies, county emergency management offices, state and federal emergency management offices, were among the recipients.
In addition to county clerks and election administration offices, the office also sent guides to state lawmakers, Indiana’s congressional delegation, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, members of the National Association of Secretary of States Election Committee and the Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP) at Ball State University. VSTOP tests all the election equipment used in Indiana.
What’s inside
The guide is a “compilation of materials from authoritative sources,” including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, four state agencies, a county election board and the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections. Law enforcement and election officials created the latter in 2022 to address violence against election workers and voters.
Just below its list of sources and acknowledgements, however, the guide warns readers the information inside may not be correct.
“This publication is a collection of materials from cited sources. It is presented for education and illustrative purposes and is not intended to be relied on as a legal resource, definitive guidance or administrative directive,” it says. “The State of Indiana does not warrant, and assumes no liability that the information contained herein is complete, up to date, correct, or applicable in any particular situation or circumstance.”
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“Election administrators, election workers, and persons responsible for safe, secure, and reliable elections are advised to consult with their own legal, security, and public safety advisers about specific situations and actions,” it continues.
The document, which has 18 sections, takes on polling place security plans, election infrastructure security, election worker attacks, suspicious election mail, doxing, swatting, artificial intelligence, photo identification and more.
“The focus of the program is on election worker and voter safety, election security, and state election administration as a component of ‘National Critical Infrastructure,’” Eaton said. “The guide and materials are part of the Secretary of State’s multi-dimensional 2024 program for election safety and security which also includes production of audio-visual training materials, regional training and collaboration seminars, and production and hosting of web accessible election security information.”
It’s not public, however. Eaton said it “has not yet” been published online. High printing costs mean there aren’t physical copies available for everyday residents “at this time,” she added.
SOS photocopied the first four pages of the guide, embedded below, in response to the Capital Chronicle’s inquiry.
2024 Blow the Whistle on Election Interference introduction 5-8-24
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Indiana
Are Caitlin Clark’s Air Force 1s the key to Indiana Fever’s playoff success?

Can Fever win without Caitlin Clark?
USAT’s Meghan Hall and Sam Cardona-Norberg highlight how the Fever’s depth has shown out in the playoffs, and what it means for Indiana’s future.
Sports Seriously
Caitlin Clark may not be able to play for the Indiana Fever, but she’s clearly trying to influence her teammates with her shoe game. The All-Star guard, who is out with a right groin injury, has worn black Nike Air Force 1 sneakers for the last three games of the playoffs.
The Fever’s record in those three games: 3-0.
It started when the Fever were down 1-0 in their best-of-3 first-round series to the Atlanta Dream. She walked out on the court with the shoes, which exude toughness, and got a big reaction from teammates.
“I fear you, you mean business,” Fever All-Star center Aliyah Boston joked before Game 2. “Black Forces?! Them (refs) better watch out.”
BE LIKE CAITLIN CLARK: Buy black Air Force 1s
Ever the superstitious type, after the Fever won Game 2, Clark wore same outfit and Air Force 1s for Game 3. After the Fever upset the Dream, they celebrated the shoes on the court.
“I mean, they’re working, so,” teammate Lexie Hull said following the Game 3 win. “We told her she’s bringing them in her bag, wearing them every day.”
For Game 1 of the semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces, Clark wore black and white Nikes to the Michelob ULTRA Arena. Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham was concerned, asking about the black Air Forces. Clark said: “Don’t worry, I’ve got them.”
Clark wore all black for the game, including the Air Force 1s, and the Fever stunned the Aces to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 semifinals.
Here’s guessing the black AF1s will be back for Game 2, Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Indiana
Notre Dame’s Misery Could Be Indiana’s Opportunity — Here’s Why

Indiana made quick of Indiana State on Friday night, routing the Sycamores 73-0. One night later, roughly 200 miles north of Bloomington, Indiana, in South Bend, Notre Dame dropped another thriller. This one was a 41-40 loss to Texas A&M that dropped the Fighting Irish to 0-2.
Aside from the obvious in Texas A&M, Indiana may have just been the biggest winner in college football because of that.
Indiana Football’s Current Setting
Indiana sits at 3-0 after Friday’s drubbing of Indiana State and is now preparing for No. 9 Illinois in one of the biggest games in the history of Memorial Stadium. Both the Hoosiers and Fighting Illini have realistic College Football Playoff hopes, and Saturday’s showdown will go a long way in determining who has a step up.
A win by Indiana Saturday would put it in the driver’s seat for a College Football Playoff spot ahead of Notre Dame, even if the Irish win out and finish 10-2.
Beating No. 9 Illinois on Saturday night would mean Indiana has a top ten win to its name, something Notre Dame is almost guaranteed to not have all year, as it sits 0-2 and only has one game remaining against a team that is currently ranked (Oct. 18 vs. No. 25 USC).
Indiana’s Remaining Schedule:
Coaches hate looking ahead and understandably so. However, we’re not coaches here, and can look ahead without getting punished for it.
Of its nine remaining games, Indiana figures to be favored in seven. Only trips to Oregon and Penn State would appear to make the Hoosiers underdogs at this point.
College football rarely goes as we expect it to far out, but what happens if Indiana simply beats the teams, it should, with Saturday’s game against Illinois included in that?
Indiana would finish 10-2 and feature a top ten win. The best Notre Dame could currently do is run the table and finish 10-2, but that would almost certainly come without a win over a top 15 team, let alone a top 10 one.
College Football Playoff Outlook:
Would the College Football Playoff committee agree? It can say it doesn’t favor brands over resumes all it wants, but sometimes the evidence is too strong against that. Notre Dame losing its two games by a combined four points only would be part of its case, but should margin of defeat even matter in CFP cases?
Indiana didn’t even play Saturday night but depending how the rest of the regular season goes, it may have just been the biggest winner in all of college football Saturday night, short of Texas A&M.
Indiana
Knicks Hope to Be in Pacers’ Shoes

The New York Knicks hope to do what the Indiana Pacers were able to accomplish this past season by winning the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Pacers stunned the Knicks in six games to advance to the NBA Finals, where they pushed the champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a Game 7 despite losing star point guard Tyrese Haliburton to a torn Achilles midway through the final matchup.
The Pacers should be different without Haliburton in the upcoming season, opening the door for the Knicks to take over as the top team in the East. Even though Haliburton won’t be on the court, the Pacers should still have a solid team.
Andrew Nembhard is expected to have significant duties as the team’s point guard while Bennedict Mathurin will likely be his partner in the backcourt.
Aaron Nesmith, who torched the Knicks throughout the entire Eastern Conference Finals, will likely be the team’s starting small forward. Pascal Siakam will be expected to lead the team in scoring from the power forward position while the team has question marks surrounding the center spot.
Myles Turner won’t be with the Pacers for the first time in a decade after he signed a contract with the division rival Milwaukee Bucks over the offseason, so the team needs to figure out what it will do to replace him.
“By far, the biggest question with the lineup is the center position. There is no guaranteed starter, although Isaiah Jackson is the favorite. Jay Huff and James Wiseman will likely back him up,” Indiana Pacers On SI contributor Ryan Stano wrote.
“There’s a chance that Indiana changes who they want to start at center at some point during the season, so that is a fluid spot. Tony Bradley will fight Wiseman for the third-string minutes.”
The Knicks should be favored over the Pacers during the season, but this is a team whose core was one win away from winning the championship just a few months ago.
Therefore, the Knicks have to take the Pacers seriously if they want to overtake them in the Eastern Conference hierarchy.
Make sure you bookmark Knicks on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
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