Indiana would require hand-marked ballots and hand counts in elections

Indiana would use hand-marked paper ballots, count them by hand, and stop running its program that checks voting systems. The paper ballot rules would cover Indiana elections. Each precinct, or local voting area, would have one voting system for people with disabilities. Ballots would be made in Indiana and carry a watermark and serial number. Cameras would record and stream the hand count and ballot box. The state could keep running its voting-system oversight program until contracts still in force after June 30, 2026, are fulfilled. Hand counting would begin at 7 a.m. on election day. The state could not run its voting-system oversight program after June 30, 2026, unless it still had contracts to fulfill.

Indiana would limit in-person voting to election day and restrict who could receive an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots could go to military or overseas voters, people with disabilities, voters 65 or older, and people required to work the entire time polls are open. Voters would have to request absentee ballots before they are mailed. Only a voter or an immediate family member could return a completed absentee ballot, and drop boxes would be banned. An absentee ballot would need a copy of the voter’s ID or the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number. Absentee ballots would have to arrive by noon on election day; later ballots could not count.

People applying to register would provide proof of citizenship and a signature. These rules would cover voter registration applicants. Digital IDs would also be unacceptable when voting. Election officials would use applicants’ signatures to check later votes. Outside organizations could not fill out or mail registration forms for applicants, hand-deliver forms to election officials, or offer rewards for registering.

County clerks would let Indiana citizens inspect and copy election materials under supervision. Indiana citizens could inspect materials such as voter lists, signatures, and ballots at county clerk offices. The state would also put its voter registration database online for free. Inspection and copying would be supervised. Ballots could not identify voters. Names and addresses of people in the confidential address program would be excluded from ballot access.

A violation of these election rules would be a Class A misdemeanor, and the attorney general would set up an election crimes unit. The penalty would apply to people who violate the proposed election rules. The investigation unit would work throughout Indiana. A person convicted of violating these rules would lose the right to vote for ten years, even after leaving prison. The unit would investigate reports of election law violations and could start its own investigations. The ten-year voting ban would start on the date of conviction.