Sec. 11. (a) The ballot information, whether placed on the ballot card or on the marking device, must be in the order of arrangement provided for ballots under this section.

     (b) Each county election board shall have the names of all candidates for all elected offices, political party offices, and public questions printed on a ballot card as provided in this chapter. The county may:

(1) print all offices and questions on a single ballot card; and

(2) include a ballot variation code to ensure that the proper version of a ballot is used within a precinct.

     (c) Each type of ballot card must be of uniform size and of the same quality and color of paper (except as permitted under IC 3-10-1-17).

     (d) The nominees of a political party or an independent candidate or independent ticket (described in IC 3-11-2-6) nominated by petitioners shall be listed on the ballot with the name and device set forth on the certification or petition. The circle containing the device may be of any size that permits a voter to readily identify the device. IC 3-11-2-5 applies if the certification or petition does not include a name or device, or if the same device is selected by two (2) or more parties or petitioners.

     (e) The offices and public questions on the general election ballot must be placed on the ballot in the order listed in IC 3-11-2-12, IC 3-11-2-12.4, IC 3-11-2-12.5, IC 3-11-2-12.7(b), IC 3-11-2-12.9(a), IC 3-11-2-12.9(c), IC 3-11-2-13(a) through IC 3-11-2-13(c), IC 3-11-2-14(a), IC 3-11-2-14(d), and IC 3-11-2-14(e). The offices and public questions may be listed in a continuous column either vertically or horizontally and on a number of separate pages.

     (f) The name of each office must be printed in a uniform size in bold type. A statement reading substantially as follows must be placed immediately below the name of the office and above the name of the first candidate:

(1) “Vote for one (1) only.”, if only one (1) candidate is to be elected to the office.

(2) “Vote for not more than (insert the number of candidates to be elected) candidate(s) for this office. To vote for any candidate for this office, you must make a voting mark for each candidate you wish to vote for. A straight party vote will not count as a vote for any candidate for this office.”, if more than one (1) candidate is to be elected to the office.

     (g) Below the name of the office and the statement required by subsection (f), the names of the candidates for each office must be grouped together in the following order:

(1) The major political party whose candidate received the highest number of votes in the county for secretary of state at the last election is listed first.

(2) The major political party whose candidate received the second highest number of votes in the county for secretary of state is listed second.

(3) All other political parties listed in the order that the parties’ candidates for secretary of state finished in the last election are listed after the party listed in subdivision (2).

(4) If a political party did not have a candidate for secretary of state in the last election or a nominee is an independent candidate or independent ticket (described in IC 3-11-2-6), the party or candidate is listed after the parties described in subdivisions (1), (2), and (3).

(5) If more than one (1) political party or independent candidate or ticket described in subdivision (4) qualifies to be on the ballot, the parties, candidates, or tickets are listed in the order in which the party filed its petition of nomination under IC 3-8-6-12.

(6) A space for write-in voting is placed after the candidates listed in subdivisions (1) through (5), if required by law.

(7) The name of a write-in candidate may not be listed on the ballot.

     (h) The names of the candidates grouped in the order established by subsection (g) must be printed in type with uniform capital letters and have a uniform space between each name. The name of the candidate’s political party, or the word “Independent” if the:

(1) candidate; or

(2) ticket of candidates for:

(A) President and Vice President of the United States; or

(B) governor and lieutenant governor;

is independent, must be placed immediately below or beside the name of the candidate and must be printed in a uniform size and type.

     (i) All the candidates of the same political party for election to at-large seats on the fiscal or legislative body of a political subdivision must be grouped together:

(1) under the name of the office that the candidates are seeking;

(2) in the order established by subsection (g); and

(3) within the political party, in alphabetical order according to surname.

A statement reading substantially as follows must be placed immediately below the name of the office and above the name of the first candidate: “Vote for not more than (insert the number of candidates to be elected) candidate(s) of ANY party for this office.”.

     (j) Candidates for election to at-large seats on the governing body of a school corporation must be grouped:

(1) under the name of the office that the candidates are seeking; and

(2) in alphabetical order according to surname.

A statement reading substantially as follows must be placed immediately below the name of the office and above the name of the first candidate: “Vote for not more than (insert the number of candidates to be elected) candidate(s) for this office.”.

     (k) The following information must be placed at the top of the ballot before the first public question is listed:

(1) The cautionary statement described in IC 3-11-2-7.

(2) The instructions described in IC 3-11-2-8, IC 3-11-2-10(d), and IC 3-11-2-10(e).

     (l) The ballot must include a single connectable arrow, circle, oval, or square, or a voting position for voting a straight party ticket by one (1) mark as required by section 14 of this chapter, and the single connectable arrow, circle, oval, or square, or the voting position for casting a straight party ticket ballot must be identified by:

(1) the name of the political party; and

(2) immediately below or beside the political party’s name, the device of that party (described in IC 3-11-2-5).

The name and device of each political party must be of uniform size and type and arranged in the order established by subsection (g) for listing candidates under each office. The instructions described in IC 3-11-2-10(c) for voting a straight party ticket and the statement concerning presidential electors required under IC 3-10-4-3 must be placed on the ballot label. The instructions for voting a straight party ticket must include the statement: “If you do not wish to vote a straight party ticket, do not make a mark in this section and proceed to voting the ballot by office.”.

     (m) A public question must be in the form described in IC 3-11-2-15(a) and IC 3-11-2-15(b), except that a single connectable arrow, a circle, or an oval may be used instead of a square. Except as expressly authorized or required by statute, a county election board may not print a ballot card that contains language concerning the public question other than the language authorized by a statute.

     (n) The requirements in this section:

(1) do not replace; and

(2) are in addition to;

any other requirements in this title that apply to optical scan ballots.

     (o) The procedure described in IC 3-11-2-16 must be used when a ballot does not comply with the requirements imposed by this title or contains another error or omission that might result in confusion or mistakes by voters.

     (p) This subsection applies to an optical scan ballot that does not list:

(1) the names of political parties or candidates; or

(2) the text of public questions;

on the face of the ballot. The ballot must be prepared in accordance with this section, except that the ballot must include a numbered circle or oval to refer to each political party, candidate, or public question.

[Pre-1986 Recodification Citation: 3-2-4-4(c) part.]

As added by P.L.5-1986, SEC.7. Amended by P.L.3-1987, SEC.307; P.L.58-2005, SEC.19; P.L.164-2006, SEC.114; P.L.190-2011, SEC.10; P.L.194-2013, SEC.67; P.L.21-2016, SEC.16; P.L.278-2019, SEC.104; P.L.141-2020, SEC.12; P.L.109-2021, SEC.45; P.L.193-2021, SEC.50; P.L.227-2023, SEC.95; P.L.9-2024, SEC.23.