A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning elections.
HB 1133 eliminates straight-ticket voting in Indiana general and municipal elections. The bill removes a voter’s ability to cast one mark that automatically applies to all candidates of a political party or independent ticket, and it repeals multiple statutes that currently govern how straight-ticket votes are cast, counted, and displayed on paper ballots, ballot cards, electronic voting systems, and ballot labels. It also makes conforming and technical changes across the election code to remove references to straight-ticket voting and to update ballot instructions and machine-testing requirements.
The bill also preserves and clarifies special rules for certain offices and ballot types. In particular, it continues to require individual candidate selection for school board offices and for at-large offices where more than one person is elected, such as county council, city common council, town council, and township board seats. It updates ballot formatting, vote-counting, and public-test procedures so that voting systems no longer need to support straight-party selection, while still ensuring voters can vote for individual candidates, independent candidates, write-ins, presidential electors, and public questions. The effective date is July 1, 2026.
HB 1133 would substantially revise Indiana election law by repealing the statutory framework for straight-ticket voting and amending numerous provisions in Title 3 to remove or replace related ballot instructions, machine functions, and vote-tabulation rules. It affects paper ballots, optical scan systems, direct-record electronic systems, marking devices, and ballot labels, and it requires counties and election officials to update ballot design, voting-system programming, and public testing procedures. The bill also repeals provisions that specifically addressed how straight-ticket votes interact with school board and multi-seat local offices, replacing them with rules requiring individual votes for those offices.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded vote history, so there is no documented debate or formal vote sentiment to summarize. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be a significant policy change aimed at simplifying or modernizing ballot procedures by removing straight-ticket voting, but the context provided does not show whether that change was broadly supported or opposed in committee. The bill’s extensive technical amendments suggest an administrative focus on implementation as much as policy change.
The main point of contention is likely the elimination of straight-ticket voting itself, since that change affects how voters can quickly support a party slate in general and municipal elections. Another likely issue is the impact on party-line voting behavior and on voters who prefer a faster ballot method, especially in partisan contests. The bill also singles out school board and multi-member local offices for individual voting requirements, which may draw attention from election administrators and political stakeholders concerned about ballot complexity, voter education, and the consistency of vote-counting rules across different voting systems.