In Indiana, there are 12 reasons you can ask for an “absentee ballot” – a ballot you can receive through the mail because you can’t make it to the polls. You fill it out ahead of time and mail it back or drop it off at a vote center.
It’s meant to make voting easier and more accessible for people who will be out of town on Election Day, are confined to their home because of an illness, don’t have transportation or other reasons they can’t make it to a voting center.
Read on to learn about important deadlines, who qualifies to vote absentee and what’s new for ID requirements.
How do I request an absentee ballot?
If you want to vote absentee in the Nov. 5 election, you must request a ballot by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 24. If your request is accepted, a secure envelope with a ballot is sent to your home. After you complete your ballot, you can return it by mail or in-person.
When you receive your ballot, make sure your precinct is correct and there are two sets of initials, one from a Democratic clerk and one from a Republican clerk. If the ballot is incorrect or missing information, you can return it and request a new one.
Voters who are in the military or overseas, or who have a visual disability, can find forms here.
What are the 12 reasons you can request an absentee ballot?
You can find the official language for the reasons you can request an absentee ballot on section five of the request form. They are:
- Having a specific reason to be out of Marion County for all of Election Day.
- Being confined to your home or a healthcare facility on Election Day because of illness or injury.
- Caring for another person who is confined to a home or healthcare facility on Election Day because of illness or injury.
- Working all day on Election Day.
- Being at least 65 years old.
- Working as a poll worker outside of your voting precinct.
- Being a voter who has disabilities.
- Qualifying as a “serious sex offender” according to the state’s definition.
- Using what the state calls a “fail safe” procedure, which requires a form called the VRG 4/12 for people who are updating their voter registration at the same time they’re requesting an absentee ballot.
- Not having transportation to the polls.
- Being a member of the Indiana National Guard who is deployed or on assignment in Indiana, or a public safety officer.
- Observing a religious holiday all day on Election Day.
What forms of ID do I need to request an absentee ballot?
Indiana’s absentee ballots look a little different now. Voters have to provide two forms of identification and include photocopies in the envelope with the application.
Making a mistake on the request form could cost you your vote.
In 2023’s general election in Marion County, more than 300 of the 43,000 absentee voters made errors – they didn’t include an ID, used an ID that couldn’t be confirmed or used the wrong form.
How to return your absentee ballot
Ballots must be received by 6 p.m. on Election Day. Mail it at least 14 days before the election so it can arrive in time. You can also take your ballot to any early voting site or vote center location.
If you can’t take the ballot in-person, you can have another person do it for you. That person has to be your attorney or a family member through birth, marriage or adoption, and they have to fill out this form.
For more details on absentee voting, check out this step-by-step guide.
A correction was made on Sept. 25, 2024: An earlier version of this article did not state the correct deadline requests for absentee ballots must be returned by. The deadline is Oct. 24.
Mirror Indy reporter Sophie Young covers services and resources. Contact her at sophie.young@mirrorindy.org.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
