Counting federal write-in absentee ballots; minor errors on ballot; partial ballot invalidity and ballots not to be counted
Ind. Code § 3-11.5-5-14
in effectSec. 14. (a) This section applies to the counting of federal write-in absentee ballots described in IC 3-11-4-12.5.
(b) If a voter writes an abbreviation, a misspelling, or other minor variation instead of the correct name of a candidate or political party, that vote shall be counted if the intent of the voter can be determined.
(c) If a voter casts a ballot under this section for President or Vice President and writes in the name of a candidate or political party that has not:
(1) certified a list of presidential electors and alternate presidential electors under IC 3-10-4-5; or
(2) included a list of presidential electors and alternate presidential electors on the declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate filed by a write-in candidate under IC 3-8-2-2.5;
the vote for President or Vice President is void. The remaining votes on the ballot may be counted.
(d) As required by 52 U.S.C. 20303(b), and except as provided in this section, an absentee ballot subject to this section shall be submitted and processed in the same manner provided by this title for a regular absentee ballot.
(e) IC 3-12-1-7 applies to a ballot subject to this section.
(f) As required under 52 U.S.C. 20303(b), a ballot subject to this section may not be counted if:
(1) the ballot was submitted:
(A) by an overseas voter who is not an absent uniformed services voter; and
(B) from within the United States;
(2) the overseas voter's application for a regular absentee ballot was received by the county election board after the applicable absentee ballot application deadline set forth in IC 3-11-4-3;
(3) the voter's completed regular state absentee ballot was received by the county election board by the deadline for receiving absentee ballots under IC 3-11.5-4-7 or IC 3-12-1-17; or
(4) the ballot subject to this section was not received by the county election board by the deadline for receiving absentee ballots under IC 3-11.5-4-7 or IC 3-12-1-17.
(g) If a federal write-in absentee ballot is received by the county election board in an envelope that does not indicate that the envelope contains the ballot, and the envelope is opened by the county election board, the absentee ballot shall nevertheless be counted if otherwise valid. The county election board shall:
(1) immediately seal the absentee ballot and the envelope in which the ballot was received in a carrier envelope indicating that a voted absentee ballot is enclosed; and
(2) document the date the absentee ballot was sealed within the carrier envelope, attested to by the signature of each member of the county election board.
As added by P.L.3-1993, SEC.176 and P.L.19-1993, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.198-2005, SEC.14; P.L.66-2010, SEC.27; P.L.219-2013, SEC.60; P.L.128-2015, SEC.199; P.L.201-2017, SEC.34.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/3Fetched: 10/17/2026