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Select a state from the menu below to learn more about its election administration. |
Election administration encompasses a state's voting policies, procedures, and enforcement. These include voter identification requirements, early and absentee/mail-in voting provisions, voter list maintenance methods, and more. Each state's voting policies dictate who can vote and under what conditions.
Below, you will find details on the following election administration topics in Indiana:
In Indiana, polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time on the date of an election. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[2]
To register to vote in Indiana, an individual must be a U.S. citizen who has resided in the precinct in which the individual will be voting for at least 30 days preceding the next election. The individual must be at least 18 years old by the time of the next general or municipal election. Proof of residence is required to register.[3] Registration can be completed online, by mail, or in person.[4] The deadline to register to vote is 29 days before the next election.[5]
Prospective voters can register in person at the following locations:
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Indiana does not practice automatic voter registration.
Indiana has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Indiana does not allow same-day voter registration.
Indiana law requires 30 days of residency in a precinct before a person may vote.[3]
Indiana does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.
All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[7] As of November 2024, five states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.
The Indiana Secretary of State website allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Indiana permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website. Indiana refers to early voting as voting absentee-in-person.[8]
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.
An individual is eligible to vote absentee by mail in an election if he or she cannot make it to the polls on the day of an election for one of the following reasons:[8]
A request to vote absentee must be received by the appropriate official at least eight days prior to the election. The ballot must then be returned by close of polls on Election Day.[8]
Indiana residents voting by absentee/mail-in ballot must return their completed ballot to the county election board no later than 6 p.m. on Election Day. Voters may return an absentee/mail-in ballot in person or by mail, but the ballot must be received by the close of polls on the day of the election or it will not be counted. Voters may also return an absentee/mail-in ballot to an early voting location during the in-person absentee voting period. According to the secretary of state's website, the following people may return a voter's ballot: "the voter, the voter’s attorney-in-fact, a bonded courier, or a member of the voter’s immediate household, or a member of the voter’s family."[8] Eligible family members are: spouse, parent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece.[9]
As of November 2024, 20 states allowed anyone chosen by the voter to return a ballot on the voter's behalf, with certain exceptions, while 16 states allowed anyone with certain relationships to the voter to return the voter's ballot. Four states allowed only the voter to return the voter's ballot, with certain exceptions, and two states required voters to return their ballots by mail. Eight states and D.C. did not specify who may return ballots.
In Indiana, an absentee/mail-in ballot return envelope includes a printed affidavit that the absentee/mail-in voter must sign. County election officials compare the signature on an absentee/mail-in ballot return envelope to the voter's signatures on file. Indiana law includes a cure provision, which is a law allowing a voter to correct an issue with the signature on his or her ballot. Under state law, a voter can cure a signature mismatch by filing a signed signature verification affidavit with his or her county election board by no later than noon eight days after Election Day.[10][9]
As of November 2024, 33 states had laws that included cure provisions, while 17 states did not. One state, Pennsylvania, allowed counties to establish a cure process.
Indiana voters can visit the state's Voter Portal website to check if and when their ballot was counted.
Indiana requires voters to present photo identification at the polls. The following list of criteria for accepted photo ID was current as of August 2024.[11]
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Under Indiana Code 3-5-2-40.5, which defines "proof of identification", your photo ID must meet 4 criteria to be acceptable for voting purposes. It Must: 1. Display your photo. 2. Display your name, and the name must conform to your voter registration record. Conform does not mean identical. Below are examples of names that would conform to "Robert John Crew": Robert John Crew, Robert J. Crew, Robert Crew, R. John Crew, R. J. Crew, Bob John Crew, Bob J. Crew, Bob Crew, John Crew, or J. Crew. 3. Display an expiration date and either be current or have expired sometime after the date of the last General Election (November 8, 2022). NOTE: An ID issued by the US Department of Defense, a branch of the uniformed services, the Merchant Marine, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (or Veterans Administration), or the Indiana National Guard is not required to have an expiration date, or may state that the document has an "Indefinite" expiration date. 4. Be issued by the State of Indiana or the U.S. government. In most cases, an Indiana driver license, Indiana photo ID card, Military ID or U.S. Passport is sufficient. A student ID from an Indiana State school may only be used if it meets all of the 4 criteria specified above. A student ID from a private institution may not be used for voting purposes.[11][6] |
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A voter can obtain a free Indiana identification card from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.[12]
Voters who are "indigent, those with a religious objection to being photographed, and those living in state-licensed facilities that serve as their precinct's polling place" can claim an exemption from the voter identification law. If the voter is claiming an exemption based on indigence or a religious objection, the voter can cast a provisional ballot on Election Day and visit the county election office within 10 days to claim the exemption. A voter who is a resident of a state-licensed facility can claim the exemption at the polls on Election Day.[11]
As of April 2024, 35 states required voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day. Of these states, 24 required voters to present identification containing a photograph, and 11 accepted other forms of identification. The remaining 16 states did not require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day.
Valid forms of identification differ by state. In certain states that require voters to provide identification, there may be exceptions that allow some voters to cast a ballot without providing an ID. To see more about these exceptions, see details by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.
Voters who do not have ID while voting may cast provisional ballots. See below for provisional ballot rules.
Voters in Indiana are given provisional ballots, or ballots requiring additional steps or information before they can be counted, under the following circumstances:[13]
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(1) You lack the requisite photo identification. |
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Provisional ballots will be counted no later than 3 p.m. 10 days after election day. County election boards are required to provide a toll-free telephone number or website that indicates whether the provisional ballot was accepted or rejected, according to the Indiana Election Administrator’s Manual.[14][15]
A provisional ballot is rejected in the following circumstances:[16]
Indiana voters can visit the state's Voter Portal website to check if and when their provisional ballot was counted.
Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool. |
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Indiana utilizes an open primary system. Voters are not required to register with a party, but state statutes stipulate that citizens vote in the primary of the party they have voted for most often in the past.[17]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Ballotpedia did not find a law specifying whether voters must be given time off from work to vote in this state. Nolo.com notes that states without such state laws may have administrative regulations or local ordinances pertaining to time off for voting and suggests calling your local board of elections or state labor department for more information.[18]
If you know of a relevant policy in this state, please email us.
As of September 2024, 28 states required employers to grant employees time off to vote. Within these 28 states, policies varied as to whether that time off must be paid and how much notice must be given.
In Indiana, people convicted of a felony regain their voting rights automatically upon completion of their prison sentences. People on parole, probation, or with outstanding fines are eligible to vote.[19]
Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[20]
All states have rules under which they maintain voter rolls—or, check and remove certain names from their lists of registered voters. Most states are subject to the parameters set by The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).[21] The NVRA requires states to make efforts to remove deceased individuals and individuals who have become ineligible due to a change of address. It prohibits removing registrants from voter lists within 90 days of a federal election due to change of address unless a registrant has requested to be removed, or from removing people from voter lists solely because they have not voted. The NVRA says that states may remove names from their registration lists under certain other circumstances and that their methods for removing names must be uniform and nondiscriminatory.[22]
Indiana law authorizes a county voter registration office to remove the names of voters from the registered voting list if an individual:[23]
The Indiana Secretary of State’s Office conducts a voter registration maintenance program as required by state law, by mailing all voters on the active list a non-forwardable address confirmation notice. If the notice is returned as undeliverable, a forwardable notice is sent. If no response is received, the voter is placed on an inactive list.[24]
In addition, if the county voter registration office is conducting a voter registration maintenance program and a voter does not respond to a forwardable notice (after having been sent a non-forwardable notice), the voter is placed on an inactive list. Inactive voters are eligible to vote under Indiana law. If a voter remains on the inactive list through two general elections, their registration is to be canceled.[24]
According to its website, ERIC is a nonprofit corporation that is governed by a board of member-states. These member states submit voter registration and motor vehicle registration information to ERIC. ERIC uses this information, as well as Social Security death records and other sources, to provide member states with reports showing voters who have moved within their state, moved out of their state, died, have duplicate registrations in their state, or are potentially eligible to vote but are not yet registered. ERIC's website describes its funding as follows: "Members fund ERIC. New members pay a one-time membership fee of $25,000, which is reserved for technology upgrades and other unanticipated expenses. Members also pay annual dues. Annual dues cover operating costs and are based, in part, on the citizen voting age population in each state."[25]
By 2022, 33 states and the District of Columbia had joined ERIC. As of May 2024, 24 states and the District of Columbia were members in the ERIC program.[26]
As of August 2024, Indiana was not a participating member in ERIC.
Indiana state law requires post-election audits. County election officials conduct a procedural audit if the secretary of state determines that one should be conducted because of an investigation or a recount in a specific county. Additionally, a "procedural audit must also be conducted if the total number of votes cast and the total number of voters recorded in the poll book differ by the 'audit threshold,'" according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.[27]
A risk-limiting pilot program was approved beginning in 2020. The secretary of state "designates risk-limiting audit pilot counties, and supervises the procedural audit in cases of an investigation or recount," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.[27]
Post-election audits check that election results tallied by a state's voting system match results from paper records, such as paper ballots filled out by voters or the paper records produced by electronic voting machines. Post-election audits are classified into two categories: audits of election results—which include traditional post-election audits as well as risk-limiting audits—and procedural audits.[28][29]
Typically, traditional post-election audits are done by recounting a portion of ballots, either electronically or by hand, and comparing the results to those produced by the state's voting system. In contrast, risk-limiting audits use statistical methods to compare a random sample of votes cast to election results instead of reviewing every ballot. The scope of procedural audits varies by state, but they typically include a systematic review of voting equipment, performance of the voting system, vote totals, duties of election officials and workers, ballot chain of custody, and more.
As of October 2024, 49 states and the District of Columbia had some form of post-election audit by law. Of these, 35 states and the District of Columbia required traditional post-election audits, while six states required risk-limiting post-election audits by law. Eight states used some other form of post-election audit, including procedural post-election audits.[30][31]
On April 23, 2021, Governor Eric Holcomb (R) signed SB398 into law, enacting a series of changes to the state's election administration procedures, including (but not limited to) the following:[9]
SB398 was introduced in the Indiana State Senate on January 14, 2021. The Indiana House of Representatives approved an amended version of the bill on March 25, 2021, by a vote of 58-30. The Senate accepted the House's amendments on April 15, 2021, by a vote of 40-2. [9]
Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in Indiana.
The table below lists bills related to election administration that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Indiana. The following information is included for each bill:
Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:
The Ballot Bulletin is a weekly email that delivers the latest updates on election policy. The Ballot Bulletin tracks developments in election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news. Each email contains in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker. You'll also be able to track relevant legislation, with links to and summaries of the bills themselves.
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In order to get on the ballot in Indiana, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.
There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.
This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in Indiana. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, click here. Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).
Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Indiana's nine United States Representatives and 150 state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. The federal government stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.[32][33][34][35]
Indiana was apportioned nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. Click here for more information about redistricting in Indiana after the 2020 census.
In Indiana, the state legislature is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. The legislature must approve a redistricting plan by the close of the first legislative session occurring after completion of the United States Census. The governor may veto the lines drawn by the state legislature.[36][37]
In the event that both chambers of the state legislature do not approve a congressional redistricting plan, a backup commission must draw the lines. The commission comprises the following members:[37]
The Indiana Constitution mandates that state legislative districts be contiguous. There are no such requirements for congressional district lines.[36]
Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Indiana can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Indiana Election Administrators
Indiana Secretary of State, Election Division
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
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