Five days after top GOP leaders pulled their endorsements of Secretary of State Diego Morales, his office is addressing for the first time the controversy at the heart of the drama: that Morales’ former chief of staff, a legal noncitizen, claimed to be a citizen on an old voter registration form.
Morales’ brief statement, sent via communications director Lindsey Eaton, addresses the former employee’s hiring, but does not touch on her voter registration history. Neither does a separate message to delegates, which was obtained by IndyStar.
The May 26 statement to media and a separate message to delegates emphasize that the recently departed staffer, Elina Kupce, was legally authorized to work and was cleared by the Indiana State Personnel Department.
“We followed the legal process and we followed the law. Period,” Morales wrote to delegates. “Anyone suggesting otherwise is either misinformed or deliberately misleading Hoosiers.”
That process, according to Morales’ office, includes checking criminal history and verifying citizenship or legal residency, work authorization, education history and employment history. It does not appear to include a voter registration check.
Morales’ statement comes on the heels of a dramatic week that flipped the secretary of state’s race upside down. Armed with the most money of the Republican candidates and with the advantage of incumbency, Morales was favored to win the party’s nomination at its upcoming convention.
But the Kupce news has scrambled the odds: Max Engling, a staffer for U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, entered the race last-minute, prominent Republicans yanked back their endorsements, campaign staff for Morales resigned and State Treasurer Daniel Elliott called for Morales to drop out of the race entirely.
In the days since, Morales has ignored multiple media requests, instead taking to social media to announce he was staying in the race and was confident in his path to victory.
The situation has put the already controversial secretary of state in a particularly awkward spot. As the state’s chief election officer, Morales has made cracking down on noncitizen voting a cornerstone of his tenure. It also continues to be a key issue for GOP delegates, who will determine Morales’ fate at the party’s convention in June.
Morales’ latest statement to delegates also takes aim at State Treasurer Daniel Elliott, who he accuses of sending out a “blatantly FALSE and politically motivated attack” over Memorial Day weekend. Elliott could not be immediately reached for comment.
“Mr. Elliott either does not know hiring procedures of Indiana State Government or willfully took a cheap shot at me in a text someone wrote for him to score political points and tarnish our record of success for the people of Indiana and the integrity of our elections,” Morales wrote.
He also alleges in the message that Elliott is only attacking Morales because Morales supported mid-decade redistricting.
Documents obtained by IndyStar show that Kupce was in the U.S. legally and registered to vote in 2007, when it appears she was student at Purdue. On that voter registration form, Kupce checked the box that she was a citizen even though she was not. Records indicate that she never voted and cancelled her registration in 2013.
Kupce worked in the office from October 2023 through April 2026. She left in April for personal reasons, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Contact breaking politics reporter Marissa Meador at mmeador@indystar.com or find her on X at @marissa_meador.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Diego Morales breaks silence on allegations against former chief of staff
Reporting by Marissa Meador, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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