INDIANAPOLIS — Early in-person voting began Oct. 6 across Indiana and runs through noon on Nov. 2, with Election Day set for Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to the IndyStar voter guide.
Key facts
- Early in-person voting in Indiana began Oct. 6 and ends at noon Nov. 2; Election Day is Nov. 3, with polls open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., per IndyStar.
- The deadline to apply for an absentee mail-in ballot is Oct. 22, and mail ballots must be received by 6 p.m. on Nov. 3, per IndyStar.
- The voter registration deadline has passed; Hoosiers can check their registration status and address at indianavoters.in.gov, per IndyStar.
- The top of the ballot is a four-way secretary of state race among Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard, Democrat Beau Bayh, Republican Max Engling and Libertarian Lauri Shillings, per IndyStar.
- In-person voters must present a photo ID issued by Indiana or the federal government, per Indiana Daily Student.
A stranger ballot than usual
Indiana's top race this cycle has drawn national attention. Four candidates are running for secretary of state, including Greg Ballard, the former Indianapolis mayor running under the newly created Lincoln Party. IndyStar reports a national pundit has labeled the race a "pure toss-up," an unusual tag in a state where statewide races rarely stay competitive into October.
IndyStar notes the race is noteworthy in a Republican-dominated state with few truly competitive statewide elections.
The ballot runs deeper than that one race. Hoosiers will also elect a state comptroller and treasurer, choose members of Congress and the Indiana Statehouse, decide judicial retention questions and vote on two statewide ballot measures, according to the Indiana Daily Student and Mirror Indy. This is also the first cycle with partisan school board elections in Indiana, and IndyStar reports an unprecedented number of school referendums on ballots across the state.
For Northwest Indiana, the school questions are part of that deeper ballot.
Three ways to cast a ballot
Voters who want to be done early can vote in person now. Early voting sites and hours are set by each county, and the window closes at noon on Monday, Nov. 2, according to the IndyStar guide.
Voting by mail takes more planning. Indiana requires voters to state a specific reason to receive an absentee ballot, Mirror Indy reports, and the application must reach the county clerk by Oct. 22. A completed mail ballot must be received by 6 p.m. on Nov. 3, regardless of when it was postmarked, according to the Indiana Daily Student.
Election Day itself runs 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time on Nov. 3. Anyone voting in person needs a photo ID issued by Indiana or the federal government, showing the voter's name and photo, the Daily Student reports. Voters can confirm their registration and polling information at indianavoters.in.gov before they go.
County election offices publish their own early voting locations and hours, and those schedules differ across Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties. The early voting window narrows to a noon close on Nov. 2.
Photo credit
- Hero: Gary City Hall in 2009, a low-rise municipal building in downtown Gary, Indiana, by Peter Fitzgerald, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
- Inline 1: Franklin Street in downtown Michigan City in 2013, by Nyttend, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
- Inline 2: The LaPorte County Courthouse in La Porte, spring 2007, by MrHarman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.