2024 INDIANA VOTER GUIDE
1.Voter Registration
Deadline to Register/update: October 7, 2024
2. Check Your Registration
Why check your registration? Your address is where election officials send notices, application forms to receive your ballot in the mail, and more. Additionally, poll workers will check if the address on your voter registration matches the address on your ID at the polls.
Check/Update Your Registration Online
Checklist:
- Is your name spelled correctly? (Correct hyphenations, middle initials, etc)
- Correct Address
- Active Voter Status (if not update by sending in another online/mail voter application)
- Correct Date of Birth
- Correct Political Party Preference
- Take a time-stamped photograph or screenshot of your registration, and take it with you to the polls as proof of your registration.
3. Voter ID Law
Source: Ballotpedia
Indiana requires voters to present photo identification (ID) while voting. For photo ID criteria, see below.
Voters who do not have ID while voting may cast provisional ballots. See below for provisional ballot rules.
Indiana’s voter ID requirements are outlined in Indiana Code § 3-11-8-25.1. The law states, “Except as provided in subsection (e), a voter who desires to vote an official ballot at an election shall provide proof of identification.” To view the full text of the law, click here.
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.
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.
A voter can obtain a free Indiana identification card from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
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.
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:
(1) You lack the requisite photo identification.
(2) Your name appears on the poll list, but you have been challenged as not eligible to vote at the precinct for some other reason sworn to in writing by the person who challenges your eligibility to vote.
(3) An order has been issued by a court extending the hours that the polls must remain open.
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.
A provisional ballot is rejected in the following circumstances:
- If the provisional voter affidavit is incomplete or missing required information;
- If the voter is not qualified to vote in the precinct;
- If the voter failed to provide photo identification;
- If the voter failed to register at a registration agency during the registration period; or
- If the poll clerks’ initials do not appear on the ballot.
Was your provisional ballot counted?
Indiana voters can visit the state’s Voter Portal website to check if and when their provisional ballot was counted.
4. Order Your Absentee Mail Ballot
Deadline for Absentee Mail Ballot application: Must be received by 11:59 PM by October 24, 2024
We recommend requesting your absentee mail ballot as soon as possible and well in advance of this deadline in order to ensure that you receive your ballot in time.
Deadline to return Absentee Mail Ballot: must be received no later than close of polls on November 5, 2020
Surrendering Your Absentee Ballot: Indiana has the Surrender Rule.
On Election Day, a voter who requested an absentee ballot but never received it in the mail may complete the PRE-5 affidavit at their polling location and vote a regular ballot, if otherwise qualified; OR
A voter may surrender their absentee ballot to the Inspector, who can then issue a regular ballot, if the voter is otherwise qualified; OR
A voter who had their absentee ballot rejected by county officials may appear before the county election board not later than 5PM on Election Day to request an ABS-21 form and then go to their polling place to vote a regular ballot, if otherwise qualified.
Source: https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/2402.htm
5. Early Voting Information
- Voting early in-person is available from October 8 – November 4, 2024. All registered Indiana voters are eligible to vote early in-person. Find your early voting location here:
https://vote.indy.gov/early-voting/
6. Become a Poll Worker!
- Become a poll worker!
- Poll workers must be 16 years old or over, and a registered voter (if over 18) in their county
- Sign up here: https://www.indy.gov/activity/apply-for-a-poll-worker-position