Indiana

In recent years Indiana has received national attention as the first state to introduce a photo identification requirement to vote, and for the Supreme Court case that upheld the law, Crawford v. Marion County Election Board 553 U.S. 181 (2008).  What has received much less attention is that since 2001 Indiana has given counties the option to adopt vote centers, which allow voters to cast their ballots at any vote center in the county, regardless of their address. In 2018, nearly half of Indiana’s voters cast ballots at a vote center.

The Secretary of State is the chief election official of Indiana, with a bipartisan state election commission established to administer elections on a statewide basis.  County election boards are responsible for the actual conduct of elections on a local basis.

Sources of Election Information

The Indiana Secretary of State maintains an online voter portal that provides links to information and services related to voter registration, ballot information, and absentee voting.  Useful online links to official Indiana voting information that are referenced in this report include the following:

• Indiana Election Division
• Indiana voter online portal
• Indiana voter photo ID law
• Indiana voting systems
• Indiana election administrators (county election board and county voter registration office)
• Indiana campaign finance

The following information about the Indiana electoral landscape is based primarily on an analysis of Indiana statutes, augmented by other official documentation.  Citations to statutes and other sources are provided in the text.  The focus of the research was on the election law that governed the conduct of the 2016 election.

Institutional Arrangements

The Indiana Secretary of State is the state’s chief election official (Ind. Code § 3-6-3.7-1), although the co-directors of the state election division are jointly designated as the chief state election official responsible for the coordination of state responsibilities under the National Voter Registration Act (Ind. Code § 3-7-11-1)  Additionally, Indiana has a state election commission of four members, with membership split evenly between the two major parties. Ind. Code § 3-6-4.1-2. The commission is empowered to administer the state’s election laws and supervise local election officials. Ind. Code §3-6-4.1-14. The Secretary of State’s office has an election division to advise and help both the Secretary of State and the election commission. Ind. Code §3-6-4.2-2. The election division has two co-directors of different political parties, with the Secretary of State serving as the tie-breaking vote if the co-directors cannot resolve issues dealing with the budget, expenditures, or contracts to which the commission or the election division is a party. Ind. Code § 3-6-4.2-3.

County boards of election oversee most of the mechanics of conducting elections. County boards consist of the clerk of the county circuit court and two other members appointed by the circuit court clerk, one each from the county’s two major political parties. Ind. Code § 3-6-5-2. In many counties the responsibility for voter registration does not reside with the county board of elections, but with the county clerk.  Ind. Code § 3-7-12.

The Secretary of State’s website includes a look-up tool for contact information of county boards of elections and registration officials.

Voter Registration

1. Who is Eligible?

Any U.S. citizen who will be eighteen years old at the next election and will have resided in an Indiana election precinct for thirty days before the election can register and vote in Indiana. Ind. Code § 3-7-13-1. Seventeen year olds may vote in primary elections if they will be eighteen by the subsequent general election. Ind. Code § 3-7-13-2. Indiana prohibits individuals from voting who are imprisoned (or otherwise “subject to lawful detention”) for a crime. Ind. Code § 3-7-13-4. Once released, these individuals’ voting rights are restored. Ind. Code § 3-7-13-5.

2. How to Register

Indiana allows eligible voters to register in-person, by mail, or online. Eligible voters may register in-person at a variety of locations, including, “license branch[es],” which are essentially bureau of motor vehicles’ offices, Ind. Code §§ 3-7-14 and -10, state offices that provide public assistance within the scope of the National Voter Registration Act, Ind. Code § 3-7-15-2, and state Board of Registration offices, 3-7-19-2. Voters may submit a registration by mail to a circuit court clerk or the state board of voter registration, Ind. Code § 3-7-22-9, and may register online through a secure internet website established by the Secretary of State, Ind. Code § 3-7-26.7.5. Regardless of registration method, to vote in a particular election an individual must register at least twenty-nine days prior to the date of the election. Ind. Code. § 3-7-13-11.

3. Registration Database

Indiana maintains a “single, uniform, official, centralized, and interactive” statewide voter registration list available to each county voter registration office, the state election division, and the Secretary of State. Ind. Code §§ 3-7-26.3-3-4 and -7. Indiana requires removal from the list of individuals who are deceased, no longer reside in the county in which they are registered, or are inactive and fail to respond to a state-issued notice. Ind. Code § 3-7-26.3-11.

The Indiana Secretary of State considers Indiana’s voter registration database to be a “top-down system,” meaning that the database is “hosted on a single, central platform/mainframe and is generally maintained by the state with information supplied by local jurisdictions.” U.S. E.A.C. Statutory Overview 2016, 10.

Challenges to Voter Eligibility

1. Who Can Challenge?

On Election Day, voters can be challenged by a member of the precinct election board in the precinct in which the voter seeks to vote, or by individuals designated as “challengers” within the precinct. See Ind. Code § 3-11-8-20. Challengers may be appointed ahead of the election by each political party or independent candidate on the ballot. Id. at § 3-6-7-1. All challengers must be registered voters in the county in which they serve. Id. at § 3.6-7-1.7. 

2. Basis for the Challenge

Challengers must fill out an affidavit identifying the reasons for the challenge and the source of those reasons. Ind. Code §§ 3-11-8-20 to -21. Indiana law does not specify the bases for a challenge, other than that the challenger must believe that the voter is not a legal voter in the precinct. No voter may be challenged solely for being a college student, or for the voter’s political views. Ind. Code § 3-5-4.5-2 to 3.

3. Voting Process for a Challenged Voter

Challenged voters will receive a provisional ballot rather than a regular ballot. Ind. Code § 3-11-8-22.1. For challenged voters who do not appear on a precinct’s poll list, but who provide a registration receipt or an oral or written affirmation that they reside within the precinct, or who prepare a certificate of error that they are in fact registered in that precinct, they will receive a provisional ballot after filling out an affidavit regarding their residency within the precinct. Id. at § 3-11-8-22.1(a)–(c). Challenged voters who do not appear on the precinct’s poll list and do not provide any of the enumerated documents, or challenged voters who do appear on the precinct’s poll list but have been challenged for other reasons, will receive a provisional ballot after completing a more detailed affidavit regarding their qualifications to vote. Id. at § 3-11-8-22.1(d), (f).

Provisional Voting

1. Who Can Vote Provisionally?

An individual may vote provisionally in Indiana in any of the following circumstances:  (1) the voter’s name does not appear on the registration list and their vote is challenged after the voter makes an oral or a written affirmation, or after the voter produces a certificate of error; (2) the voter is challenged as not eligible to vote; (3) the voter seeks to vote in an election as a result of an order extending the time established for closing the polls; and (4) the voter has registered to vote but has not presented identification to a poll clerk when voting in person, or has not provided a copy of acceptable identification to the county voter registration office before casting an absentee ballot. Ind. Code Ann. § 3-11.7-2-1.

2. Provisional Voting Process

To vote provisionally, an individual must submit a written affidavit attesting to the voter’s eligibility to vote in the precinct. Ind. Code § 3-11-8-23. Upon submission of the affidavit, the voter will then be allowed to cast a provisional ballot. Ind. Code § 3-11-8-22.1.

Provisional voters mark paper ballots and seal them in provisional ballot envelopes. Ind. Code § 3-11.7-2-2. The envelope must allow the precinct election board to indicate whether the voter was challenged for lack of identification. Ind. Code § 3-11.7-2-3. Once the voter submits the envelope, the precinct election board attaches to it both the challenger’s and the provisional voter’s affidavits and places them in a container marked “Provisional Ballots.” Id.

3. Counting Provisional Ballots

County election boards appoint provisional ballot counting teams to assist in evaluating provisional ballots. County boards must count all provisional ballots by no later than 3 p.m. ten days after Election Day. Ind. Code § 3-11.7-5-1. Provisional ballots are counted if the county election board determines that the affidavit executed by the provisional voter is properly executed, the provisional voter is a qualified voter of the precinct, the provisional voter has provided proof of identification, if required, and the provisional voter registered to vote on a date within the registration period. Id. at § 3-11.7-5-2. If the board determines that any of the foregoing requirements are not met, the provisional ballot is invalid and not counted. Id. at § 3-11.7-5-3.  Each county board of elections maintains a “computerized list,” which allows provisional voters to see if their provisional ballot was counted and, if their ballot was not counted, the reason(s) why. Ind. Code Ann. § 3-11.7-6-3.

Early and Absentee Voting

1. General Eligibility

All Indiana voters may vote early by casting an absentee-in-person ballot at a county election board office, beginning 28 days before the election. Ind. Code Ann. § 3-11-10-26. To vote absentee by mail, a voter must demonstrate one of the following characteristics: (1) a specific, reasonable expectation that they will be absent from the county on Election Day for the entire twelve hours the polls are open; (2) a disability; (3) age of at least 65 years; (4) official election duties outside of his or her voting precinct, (5) scheduled to work at the voter’s regular place of employment for the twelve hours the polls are open, (6) illness, injury, or the need to care for an individual suffering from an illness or injury, (7) religious beliefs preventing voting during the twelve hours the polls are open, (8) participation in the state’s address confidentiality program, (9) membership in the military or as a public safety officer, (10) sex offender status, or (11) unavailability of transportation to the polls. Ind. Code Ann. § 3-11-10-24. For this reason, the National Conference of State Legislatures classifies Indiana as an “excuse-required” absentee ballot state.

2. Regular Absentee Voting Logistics

In order to vote an absentee ballot by mail, a voter must apply to the county election board. Ind. Code 3-11-4-2(a). Indiana permits both applications submitted by the individual voter and applications submitted on behalf of a disabled voter. Ind. Code 3-11-4-2(a). (b). These applications must be received by the circuit court clerk, or the director of the board of elections in some counties, by 11:59 p.m. on the eighth day before the election for mailed, faxed, hand delivered, or electronic applications. Ind. Code 3-11-4-3. The county election board shall mail the official ballot with postage fully prepaid to the address stated on the absentee voter application. Ind. Code 3-11-4-18(a). The ballot must be transmitted either (1) on the day of the receipt of the voter’s application or (2) not more than five days after the delivery of the ballots, whichever is later. Id. Circuit clerks must keep record of the names of voters to whom absentee ballots were sent or who voted absentee in-person. Ind. Code 3-11-4-22

3. Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) Voters

Indiana refers to UOCAVA voters as “MOVE” voters under the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act. Indiana law delegates responsibility for overseeing MOVE voters to each county election board. Ind. Code 3-11-4-5.7. These voters may request a voter registration application and an absentee ballot application from (1) the election division, (2) a county election board, or (3) a county voter registration office. Id. Voters may request that their ballot be transmitted to them by email or fax, and also may return their voted ballot by email or fax if they wish. Otherwise, the office shall send the application and ballot by U.S. mail. Id. MOVE voters’ absentee ballot applications are due by the day before Election Day, and if the voted ballot is returned by U.S. mail the voted ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and received by the tenth day after the Election.

Voting Technology

Indiana uses a mix of touch-screen machines and optical-scan voting systems. Each county makes its own decision about which kind of equipment to use, from among those systems approved by the Secretary of State. The state maintains a database of all approved voting systems, reviews reports concerning the systems, performs audits, reviews contracts and leases for the systems, and assists the commission on whether to adopt a system. Id. Indiana performs random, public tests of its election machines. Ind. Code § 3-14.5.  The Secretary of State also maintains a website with information about voting systems used in each county in Indiana, in addition to another website with information about the use of electronic pollbooks in the state.

Polling Place Operations

1. Designation of Polling Place Locations

Since 2011, Indiana has allowed counties to choose to become “voter-center counties” or to retain traditional neighborhood precincts. Ind. Code § 3-11-18.1. In 2016, 29 of Indiana’s 92 counties, representing 26% of all registered voters, had adopted vote centers.  By 2018, the number of vote-center counties had grown to 37, covering nearly half the state’s registered voters.  A voter who resides in a vote center county is entitled to cast a ballot in any vote center in the county without regard to the precinct in which the voter resides. Id. at § 3-11-18.1-13. Counties continue to consider becoming vote-center counties; to assist in this decision, the Secretary of State maintains a website with advice about the suitability of vote centers and the process to follow in considering whether to adopt them.

For counties that have retained traditional precincts, the county executive designates the precinct locations where voters cast their votes on Election Day. Ind. Code § 3-11-1.5-2. Generally, each precinct must contain no more than 2,000 “active voters.” Id. at § 3-11-1.5-3. Election precincts must also stay within the boundaries of a single county, township, congressional district, and state legislative district Id. at § 3-11-1.5-4; however, the county executive may request an exemption from this requirement in certain situations, Id. at § 3-11-1.5-20.5. The county executive is also responsible for establishing polling locations for each precinct at least 29 days before election. Id. at § 3-11-8-3.1.

For a county to be deemed a vote-center county, a vote center plan must be unanimously approved by a vote of the county election board. Id. at § 3-11-18.1-8(c).  The vote center plan must include, among other things, information about the total number and location of each vote center, the number of precinct election boards that will be appointed to administer an election at each vote center, whether ballots will be printed “on demand,” a description of voting technologies to be used, and security and contingency plans. Id. at § 3-11-18.1-4.  Vote-center locations are part of the vote-center plan, and thus must be unanimously approved by the county election board; the county executive is responsible for publishing the locations of vote centers. Id. at § 3-11-18.1-9. Generally, for counties with more than 25,000 active voters, the vote-center plan must provide for at least one vote center for each 10,000 active voters, or any fraction thereof. Id. at § 3-11-18.1-6.  Under certain circumstances, special elections may be conducted with fewer vote centers Id. at § 3-11-18.1-6(b).

2. Election Day Officials

A variety of election officials help with the mechanics of Election Day, whether or not a county has chosen to become a vote-center county. First, each county election board appoints a precinct election board consisting of one “election inspector” and two “election judges”; the election inspector serves as the chairman of the precinct board. Ind. Code § 3-6-6-1. The county board also appoints two “poll clerks,” two “assistant poll clerks,” and two “election sheriffs” per precinct, with one of each set of officials representing each major political party. Id. at §§ 3-6-6-2, -3, -5. With the exception of the assistant poll clerks (who may be 16 or 17 years old), each of these election officials must be a registered voter within the Indiana county they seek to serve. Id. at §§ 3-6-6-2, -3, -5. Election officials must be able to read, write, and speak English; attend a training mandated by statute; and not be a candidate for election in that precinct or be related to any candidate for election in that precinct. Id. at § 3-6-6-7.

Each set of election officials has a defined set of duties. The precinct election board oversees the maintenance of the election within the precinct, as it handles “all matters coming before” it, including assisting the poll clerks in their duties and helping voters when requested. Id. at § 3-6-6-30. However, the election inspector, a member of the precinct board, assumes the most responsibility, as he or she is responsible for keeping the voter registration list within the precinct. Id. at § 3-7-29-5. Poll clerks and assistant poll clerks are charged, primarily, with initialing and distributing ballots to voters, Id. at § 3-6-6-32, and election sheriffs are responsible for maintaining “order at the polls” and enforcing election laws under the direction of the precinct board. Id. at § 3-6-6-35. 

3. Voting Procedure

Polls open at 6:00 a.m. on Election Day and remain open until 6:00 p.m. Ind. Code § 3-11-8-8. Indiana allows for use of an “electronic poll list” at each traditional neighborhood precinct Id. at § 3-7-29-6.  It also requires that vote-center plans include information about either (1) electronic poll lists that would be used at each center or (2) electronic poll books that would be used in all centers Id. at § 3-11-18.1-4(9). The poll list allows election officials to verify whether an individual is properly registered to vote and to record that the voter has received a ballot. Id. at § 3-11-8-10.3. Vote-center plans must also include a description of equipment and procedures used to ensure that information about a voter entered at one vote center is immediately available to all other vote centers and the county election board Id. at § 3-11-18.1-4(10).

To vote in-person on Election Day, Indiana requires all potential voters to provide an approved form of identification. Id. at § 3-11-8-25.1. The Secretary of State maintains a website with detailed information about the state’s photo ID law.  Indiana also requires that potential voters confirm their name and address and sign their signature in the presence of an election official prior to receiving a ballot. See id. at § 3-11-8-26.1. After proper identification and signature, individuals may then proceed to vote.

Vote Counting and Recounting

Each county election board is to begin canvassing votes at 6:00 p.m. on Election Day. The canvass must be complete by the second Monday after Election Day. “[T]he primary factor to be considered in determining a voter’s choice on a ballot is the intent of the voter.” Ind. Code § 3-12-1-1. Intent can be determined from the whole or part of the ballot. Id. 

Any candidate is entitled to a recount. Ind. Code § 3-12-6-1(a). A candidate seeking a recount must file a verified recount petition specifying grounds for the recount within fourteen days of the election. Ind. Code § 3-12-6-2(a). If a candidate does not file a petition within this period, within seventeen days of the election the county or state chairperson of a political party may file a recount petition. Ind. Code § 3-12-6-1(b), 2(b).

The state recount commission consists of the Secretary of State (who chairs the commission) and a designee of each major political party. Ind. Code § 3-12-10-2.1(a)-(b). If the subject of the recount is the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State’s party designates another person to serve instead for the determination of that recount. Ind. Code § 3-12-10-2.1(e).

Post-Election Audits

Indiana was one of only 16 states in 2016 that did not require post-election tabulation audits; however, it did require procedural audits under certain circumstances. Ind. Code § 3-12-14.  However, the state has been informally piloting risk-limiting tabulation audits and new legislation, effective January 1, 2020, will allow counties to formally pilot the implementation of risk-limiting audits. Ind. Code § 3-12-13.

Ballot Security

Voters send ballots to the county election board. Ind. Code § 3-11-10-1. The delivery of absentee ballots to the polls is governed by § 3-11-10-13. Members of both political parties on the county election board must have combined control over the ballots. Id. While polls are open, the inspector, in the presence of the precinct election board, opens the absentee ballots and examines them. Ind. Code § 3-11-10-15. If everything is in order, the inspector hands the ballots to the judges who deposit them in the ballot box. Ind. Code § 3-11-10-16. If absentee ballots remain unopened when the polls close, they may not be opened without an order of a court or the state recount commission. Ind. Code § 3-11-10-35.

A voter may not show their ballot to anyone so as to display how they voted. Ind. Code § 3-11-11-16. If they do, the vote cannot be cast. Id. Similarly, a voter may not take a picture of their ballot and share it. Ind. Code § 3-11-8-17.5(b). This “ballot selfie” provision went into effect on July 1, 2015 however, Indiana was quickly enjoined from enforcing it before the first election it would have covered. Ind. Civil Liberties Union Found., Inc. v. Ind. Sec'y of State, No. 1:15-cv-01356-SEB-DML, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182116 (S.D. Ind. Oct. 19, 2015). The ACLU had challenged the law as a violation of the First Amendment. The court has since invalidated the law. Ind. Civil Liberties Union Found. Inc. v. Ind. Sec'y of State, No. 1:15-cv-01356-SEB-DML, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8025 (S.D. Ind. Jan. 19, 2017). The court found the law was a content-based restriction on speech and so subject to strict scrutiny. Id. at *12. The state failed to show that photographs had ever contributed to voter fraud so it was not a compelling interest. Id. at *15-16.

Campaign Finance Regulation

Contribution limits are listed under Ind. Code §3-9-2-4. When a newspaper, outdoor advertising facility, poster, yard sign, direct mailing, or any other general public political advertising has an explicit endorsement for a candidate, it must provide a clear and conspicuous disclaimer explain whom paid and authorized the material. Ind. Code § 3-9-3.25. Campaign money may only be used for campaigns, continued political activity, or activity related to office, and may not be used for personal purposes. Ind. Code § 3-9-3-4.

The Secretary of State maintains a website that functions as a portal to information about Indiana campaign finance laws, reporting, and access to campaign finance disclosure data.

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