Bio
Max Engling is a proud Christian, conservative and father of four. He earned a bachelor’s degree from IUPUI and a Master’s degree in National Defense and Strategic Planning from the U.S. Naval War College as a civilian. Engling has worked for various businesses, in the House of Representatives and on the staff of U.S. Senator Jim Banks. His top priorities include stopping business filing fraud, ensuring only U.S. citizens vote in our elections and providing more transparency in the Secretary of State’s office.
Q&A
Why are you running for Indiana Secretary of State?
I am a Christian, husband, father and Hoosier, and I’m running specifically to uphold our election integrity and defend the Hoosier values that we have here in the state; election integrity, ensuring that our voters have confidence in the elections, transparency as relates to a transparency portal to give folks direct access to the Secretary of State’s office and stopping the business filing fraud that we’ve seen, especially around these trucking companies that are operating fraudulently. I’m doing this because I love the state of Indiana and I want to build on the strength that we have here in the state.
What would be your top priority if elected?
My top priority is election integrity by making sure only eligible voters are voting in our elections. This includes maintaining voter rolls so that we don’t have folks on the voter rolls that are no longer living here, or deceased, or are ineligible in any other. I also want to work with the state house to change the color of driver’s licenses and state ID to reflect that someone is here legally, but they are not eligible to vote because they’re not a citizen, which will make it very obvious who is not eligible to vote to poll workers.
Indiana ranked 41st in voter turnout nationally in 2024. What do you think can be done to improve turnout?
We certainly need to increase voter turnout, and a big part of that is using the education arms of the Secretary of State’s office to make sure folks understand the importance of voting, understand how to vote and that we make it very straightforward to vote. I think we also need to get young folks registered and engaged. One project that we’re working on right now is where a student that wants to get a scholarship from a community foundation, that one of the eligible forms of community service would be to help register students that are eligible at their school to vote, and use that as qualified community service so that they can get these scholarships and help drive their peers to register get out and vote. I think it is also helpful for us to continue our relationships with get out the vote groups, making sure that we’re constantly pressing the importance of doing your civic duty and being involved.
What steps would you take to ensure greater transparency within the office?
Number one, a huge priority of ours is the transparency portal. It’s eyes on elections. It’s making sure that anybody that sees something happening in the election space can get that information directly up to the Secretary of State’s office, whether that is potential fraud, a conflict of interest or any other issue that they see either when they’re voting or when they’re helping to administer a polling place. Another piece of that question is in the office itself ensuring transparency, and that’s why I would be very committed to that during the transition period. We’ll be working with people in the office currently and outside of the office to make sure that new procedures are put in place and that a new level of professionalism is adopted as far as the running of the office. And I will say, I am thankful to the General Assembly for putting in a lot of protocols for all statewide officers that help increase transparency and decrease the opportunity for either fraud or other types of insider dealings, such as you know no longer being eligible to hire certain family members or issue no bid contracts.
How would you improve the office’s services when it comes to its role in business regulation?
I think Indiana has done a good job of being a business-friendly state, and I think we need to continue to build on that. I have filed a small business with the business registration office myself, and it’s a pretty straightforward process. We also need to make sure that everybody in the division understands that the focus is helping Hoosier business owners to think more about how to run their company well, how to hire more people in Indiana and how to make money, getting rid of the red tape. We also need to focus on fraud on that side. One example is these chameleon carriers, these trucking companies that register a small business and then they put drivers on the road that shouldn’t be there. They have commercial driver’s licenses that are from other states, where they don’t have to check for English proficiency or legal status in the country, and then those drivers operate on Hoosier roads and put our people at risk, leading, in many cases, to significant injury or death. The Secretary of State must look at these business registrations, compile the data for anomalies like identical LLCs being created on single home addresses and make sure you’re taking the time to review, investigate further and work with the Attorney General’s office if prosecution is necessary. Lastly, we must ensure that every business owner has easy access to any staff they need, so that their questions are answered quickly and efficiently, and that they can work with the office from an entrepreneurial perspective to also get advice and education.
Why should voters support you?
First of all, I am the most experienced candidate for this particular role. I have a background both in small businesses, working for many small businesses and filing my own at the Secretary of State’s office, and I have a background in elections, working for the Chief Elections Committee in the U.S. House, and having also operated in a polling place myself as an inspector. I also have a background in legislative coalition building, both at the federal level and here with the General Assembly in Indiana, working to make sure that the priorities that we put forward can actually get across the finish line, and none of the other candidates can say that. I know that Hoosiers want somebody in the Secretary of State’s office who they can trust to run it professionally, someone that shares their values and will do the job well. I think all of those things separate me from my opponents.
