Former State Representative Emphasizes Election Security, Voter Confidence, Local Collaboration

Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan announced today her top priorities for the office, with election integrity, security, and voter confidence topping the list. On March 16, Governor Eric Holcomb named Sullivan, a multi-term state representative from Evansville, as Indiana’s 62^nd Secretary of State. Since then, Sullivan has worked closely with agency leadership and staff, defining the agency’s priorities while emphasizing engagement with local election officials.

“First and foremost, Indiana elections must be safe and secure,” said Sullivan. “My team and I will work to provide Hoosiers with continued confidence that every vote they cast – in local, statewide and national elections – will be counted and counted correctly. This past election year, Indiana celebrated its highest voter turnout since 1992, and our state continues to be a national leader in election security and integrity.”

Sullivan will split time between Evansville and her office in the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.

The duties of the Indiana Secretary of State include chartering of new businesses, regulation of the securities industry, oversight of state elections, commissioning of notaries public, registration of trademarks, and licensing of vehicle dealerships throughout Indiana. Sullivan intends to deliver government-as-a-service, focusing on unqualified integrity and accuracy in elections, consistent and principled regulatory methods, ceaseless protection of Hoosier investors, and the most efficient use of taxpayer resources.

Prior to being appointed Secretary of State, Sullivan served more than six years as the state representative for northern Evansville and Newburgh. As chair of the budget subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee, she continued Indiana’s strong tradition of fiscal responsibility by overseeing the creation of another balanced budget. She also served as vice-chair of the House Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee and as president of POWER, the bipartisan House women’s caucus.

Sullivan attended Castle High School in Newburgh, Ind., earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Missouri, and has continued education in business management at Lindenwood University. She and her husband of 25 years, Chad, live and raise their three children – Dalton, Savannah, and Sawyer – in Evansville, where they attend Family Bible Church.

Hoosiers are encouraged to follow Secretary Sullivan on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where they can obtain information on state elections, business resources, and more:

• Facebook: @OfficialSOSIN 
• Twitter: @OfficialSOSIN 
• Instagram: @officialsosin  
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/holli-sullivan/

For more information on the Office of the Indiana Secretary of State, please visit sos.in.gov. Any media inquiries should be sent to media@sos.in.gov or (317) 234-9682. Secretary Sullivan’s official headshot can be downloaded here.

Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan Bio 

Holli Sullivan serves as Indiana’s 62nd Secretary of State. Previously, she served as state representative for northern Evansville and Newburgh since 2014 and is a former Fortune 500 automotive engineer and small business owner, as well as a wife and mother of three. Sullivan brought her world-class business experience, entrepreneurial know-how and deep community connections to fight and win battles at the Statehouse that made life better for Hoosier families by putting conservative principles into action. As vice-chair of the Indiana Republican Party, she supports Hoosier values of personal responsibility, limited government and individual freedoms while defending the sanctity of life, the 2nd Amendment and local control.

In the Indiana House of Representatives, Sullivan served as chair of the budget subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee, where she continued Indiana’s strong tradition of fiscal responsibility by overseeing the creation of another balanced budget. In 2017, she co-authored and championed the passage of Indiana’s 20-year infrastructure plan – one of the few fully-funded road plans in the nation. In 2018, she was named chair of the House Roads & Transportation Committee.

Her accomplishments at the Statehouse also include expanding the state’s Pre-K pilot program and authoring Indiana’s Safety P.I.N. legislation, which has decreased the state’s infant mortality to its lowest level in recorded history. In 2020, she worked in partnership with the Secretary of State’s office to pass legislation funding critical local cybersecurity improvements ahead of the 2020 elections. She served as vice-chair of the House Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee and as president of POWER, the bipartisan House women’s caucus.

Sullivan has a proven record in the private sector as a manager, consultant and small business owner. She began her career in management at General Motors, where she managed more than 100 employees in the auto giant’s paint division. At GM, she cut overhead costs more than 12% in a single year by improving efficiency on the production line and instituting quality standards. During her leadership, GM won JD Power’s “best in quality” award three years running.

She later held similar roles for Toyota’s Indiana manufacturing operation, ensuring production quality and managing staffing across the company’s Hoosier plants. Sullivan then took her business experience to the University of Southern Indiana, where she worked as a consultant at USI’s Center for Applied Research and opened her own business, Onward Consulting.

An active volunteer and community leader, Sullivan currently serves as a board member of Indiana’s Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series and as chairwoman of the Council of State Governments’ Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development (BILLD) steering committee. Sullivan is a graduate of the Lugar Series, BILLD and Yale’s Women’s Campaign School. She has previously served on the boards of Young Life Evansville, the Minority Women’s Business Enterprise, the Alcoa Community Board, and the Vanderburgh County GOP Central Committee.  Sullivan is also a 2018 Toll Fellow, through the Henry Toll Fellowship Program, which is one of the nation’s premier leadership development programs for state government officials.

Sullivan attended Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana, earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Missouri, and has continued her education in business management at Lindenwood University.

She and her husband of 25 years, Chad, live and raise their three children – Dalton, Savannah, and Sawyer – in Evansville, where they attend Family Bible Church.