Provisional ballot; counting when ballot made invalid by mistake or inadvertence of election officer; when election board may determine not to count
Ind. Code § 3-11.7-5-1.5
in effectSec. 1.5. (a) Subsection (c) applies to a provisional ballot that the county election board determines, by a majority vote of its members and in accordance with this title:
(1) has been marked and cast by a voter in compliance with this title; but
(2) may not otherwise be counted solely as the result of the act or failure to act of an election officer.
(b) Subsection (c) does not apply to either of the following:
(1) A provisional ballot cast by an individual who seeks to vote in an election as the result of a court or other order extending the time established for closing the polls under IC 3-11-8-8 if the county election board determines or is directed under a court or other order that all provisional ballots issued after regular poll closing hours are not to be counted.
(2) A provisional ballot that is required to be rejected by a county election board under section 2(b) of this chapter as the result of information or lack of information provided by a voter registration agency.
(c) The sealed envelope containing a provisional ballot described in subsection (a) shall nevertheless be opened under section 4 of this chapter and the provisional ballot counted unless evidence of fraud, tampering, or misconduct affecting the integrity of the ballot is demonstrated. The act or failure to act by an election officer is not by itself evidence of fraud, tampering, or misconduct affecting the integrity of the ballot.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c), if the county election board, by a majority vote of its members, determines that there is evidence presented to the board demonstrating that the individual who cast the provisional ballot was ineligible to cast a regular ballot in that precinct, or evidence has been presented to the board demonstrating any other reason set forth in HAVA or this title not to count a provisional ballot, the provisional ballot may not be counted.
(e) This subsection applies to a provisional ballot cast by a voter after the voter was challenged solely because the voter was unable or declined to provide proof of identification and not for any other reason. If the voter later complies with the requirements of this title for proof of identification, the provisional ballot cast by the voter shall be counted in accordance with sections 2 and 2.5 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.221-2005, SEC.99. Amended by P.L.164-2006, SEC.123; P.L.278-2019, SEC.132.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/3Fetched: 10/17/2026