Democrat Beau Bayh has asked Shelton to help with an independent audit of the secretary of state’s office if Bayh wins the election. Bayh has called for an audit of the office led by current Secretary of State Diego Morales, whose tenure has drawn allegations of misspending and fraud.

Bayh said an audit should be independent, transparent and grounded in facts. He said bringing a Republican into the process would underscore that protecting taxpayers is not a partisan concern.

Shelton said an investigation by the state Inspector General would not be sufficient and argued that an independent audit could establish whether any conduct warrants prosecution. He said scrutiny could demonstrate that members of both parties are willing to investigate and help promote accountability.

Republican nominee Max Engling criticized Bayh’s plan as hypocritical, saying Bayh was not seeking oversight from people with relevant experience. Engling defeated Shelton for the nomination in June.

Shelton has also filed a campaign finance complaint against Engling, alleging that the candidate received $60,000 from Hoosier Leadership for America, an amount above the $5,000 limit for corporate contributions. Engling’s campaign has called the complaint baseless and said the contribution was returned before Shelton filed it. Shelton says the Indiana Election Commission should still consider the complaint against the group, which he described as a dark-money organization affiliated with U.S. Sen. Jim Banks.

Independent candidate Greg Ballard last week sued the commission, asking it to meet and consider campaign finance complaints. Shelton has filed a court brief supporting Ballard’s effort. A hearing in the case was scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23.

Shelton said he is not working for either Bayh’s or Ballard’s campaign. He described his involvement as an effort to safeguard public money and called for transparency regardless of party affiliation.