Secretary of state spending includes millions in no-bid contracts
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Included in the Indiana secretary of state’s new budget requests are hundreds of thousands of extra dollars for IT-related needs and expansions. But recent vendor contracts awarded by the agency show millions have already been quietly spent on those services, absent any competitive bidding to find the most cost-effective providers for the projects.
The contracts—provided to the Indiana Capital Chronicle upon request—are not visible in the state’s transparency portal, where agreements entered into by state agencies are typically housed and made public.
Agreements with one Indianapolis-based IT company, CleanSlate Technology Group, amounted to more than $2.3 million for services provided between March 2023 and July 2024.
Online “application support and development services” are also being contracted out to MTX Group, a Texas-based technology consulting firm. Since the 2025 fiscal year began on July 1, the state agency has paid MTX more than $1.7 million for contractual services. By agreement, the vendor could receive upwards of $1.8 million for work completed before Dec. 31.
The contract is the third-largest currently on file with the agency, according to state finance records.
None of the contract work was obtained via requests for proposals, or RFPs, meaning both companies were awarded contracts without having to go through the competitive bid process that is normally required by state law.
Around the time contracts were initially signed, top brass at both CleanSlate Technology and MTX made donations—totaling tens of thousands of dollars—to Secretary of State Diego Morales’ reelection campaign.
Lindsey Eaton, an office spokesperson, defended the contracts in a written statement to the Capital Chronicle.
“Pursuant to Indiana Code 5-22-6-1, time considerations, and critical business applications where choice of a ‘lowest cost’ bidder would be questionable, the agency opted to pursue vendors with strong track records, and commercially competitive proposals in lieu of public bidding,” Eaton said.
It’s not the first time Morales has faced scrutiny for his office’s spending.
Last year, the Capital Chronicle reported that Morales had given a spot bonus to nearly every employee in his office—including a family member and his former campaign manager—for a total of more than $308,000.
The secretary of state was additionally criticized in the months after he took office when it was revealed that he created a new agency position—with a six-figure salary—for his brother-in-law.
Contracts and campaign dollars
The first contract with CleanSlate for a range of IT services was signed March 16, 2023, and included $66,000 in compensation. The vendor’s work started on March 21 of that year and was originally set to expire Dec. 31.
On Nov. 11, 2023, the agreement was extended to June 30, 2024. The amended contract came with an extra $1,519,998.
Several weeks later, on Dec. 30, CleanSlate made a $10,000 donation to the Diego for Indiana election committee, according to the Indiana Election Division. It was the first time the company donated to Morales or any other Hoosier political candidate.
Then, on March 27, 2024, CleanSlate made a second donation, in the amount of $19,000, to Morales’ election committee. Another such contribution of $30,000 was made to the committee on June 24. The business has not made donations to any other Indiana candidate, according to campaign finance records.
Morales, elected in 2022, was not up for reelection in 2023 or 2024.
Within that same timeframe, CleanSlate’s contract was extended again, on April 30, 2024, for as-needed services. Additional payouts were capped at $759,999.99—for a total contractual payout of no more than $2,342,997. Services were supposed to end on July 31 of this year.
A second, separate contract—for “ongoing maintenance” of INBiz applications—was awarded to CleanSlate on April 28, 2023, for $270,000. Related work under that contract started on May 1, 2023, and was initially set to end three months later on July 31.
The contract was extended on June 15, 2023, however, for another $270,000. It expired last year on Oct. 31, per the contract’s terms.
According to the state transparency portal, the secretary of state’s office paid CleanSlate approximately $422,000 in Fiscal Year 2023, $2.5 million in Fiscal Year 2024, and $393,000 in the current 2025 fiscal year. Public records do not show any other state contracts with CleanSlate.
Additionally, a contract with MTX Group was signed on May 23, 2024 for “as-needed” IT services provided to the secretary of state’s auto dealer and business services divisions through the end of the calendar year. Total compensation for that work can total up to $1,842,300, according to the contract. The company has nearly reached that cap as of Dec. 7, expenditure records show.
Not long after the contract was finalized, MTX founder Das Nobel, of Texas, donated $80,000 to Morales’ campaign coffers, according to campaign finance records. That included a $50,000 contribution on June 30.
Sizable donations from Nobel during the 2024 election cycle were also made to campaigns for Mike Braun, now the governor-elect, and Attorney General Todd Rokita. Both Republicans were on the ballot in November.
Increased budget asks
Ahead of the General Assembly’s upcoming budget-setting legislative session, the secretary of state is seeking additional funding increases, which the agency said is especially needed for increased staffing, carrying out election duties, and “modernizing” online services.
The agency is seeking roughly $24.5 million per year for fiscal years 2026 and 2027—up about 10% from the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2025 of $22.3 million.
Eaton said the “discontinued availability” of federal CARES Act funding after 2023 to support election administration has largely increased the need for more state dollars.
Morales was not present at a November presentation before the state budget committee, but representatives from his office outlined various appropriation requests for the next biennium, including:
- $7 million for statutorily-mandated election administration duties and programs
- $1.8 million for staffing costs, including “increased cost of employer paid benefits, increased cost of office business administration,” and additional staff positions for the office’s business services, election administration, and securities registration and enforcement divisions
- $1.1 million for election division expenses and duties
- $750,000 for line-item funding for the securities division’s investor education and financial literacy programs
Ongoing salaries for multiple “home-based, regional staff,” are also wrapped into the agency’s budget requests.
The office said it currently employs 18 such employees, “consisting of field examiners, investigators, educators,and outreach staff.”
Eaton said those individuals perform “essential agency duties throughout the state pertaining to automobile manufacturing, distributing, marketing and salvage, auto dealer registration, licensing and enforcement, administration of temporary auto plates and registrations, business registration and development services, election administration, voter education and outreach, securities registration, licensing, and enforcement, financial literacy, and investor education programming.”
The secretary of state’s budget does not make clear how much the home-based employees’ salaries tally in total, however. Eaton emphasized that the agency’s preliminary asks for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 “do not contain requests specific to home-based, regional staff, or for expansion of the agency’s executive office staffing or functions.”
One of the regional employees is also a city councilman in northern Indiana, and the salary is $55,000.
The budget asks also come on the heels of a nearly $3,000 Thanksgiving luncheon hosted by the secretary of state in November for agency staff.
The office indicated that the meal was meant to “celebrate Thanksgiving, successful administration of the 2024 General Election, and recognize staff accomplishments.” Approximately 95 staff, interns and on-site contractors were invited.
Still, Morales’ office emphasized that—as a result of “operational efficiencies”—the agency’s general fund spending is currently 6.7% under budget, equal to a roughly $400,000 projected surplus for Fiscal Year 2025.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.