§ 3-11-4-6 — Absent uniformed services voters, overseas voters, address confidentiality voters, and voters with print disabilities; transmission of applications and ballots

(a) This section applies, notwithstanding any
other provision of this title, to absentee ballot applications for the
following:
(1) An absent uniformed services voter.
(2) An address confidentiality program participant (as defined in
IC 5-26.5-1-6).
(3) An overseas voter.
(4) A voter with print disabilities.
(b) A county election board shall make blank absentee ballot
applications available for persons covered by this section. Except as
provided in section 3(f) of this chapter, a person may apply for an
absentee ballot at any time after the registration period resumes under
IC 3-7-13-10.
(c) A person covered by this section may apply for an absentee
ballot for the next scheduled primary, general, or special election by
filing either of the following:
(1) A combined absentee registration form and absentee ballot
request approved under 52 U.S.C. 20301(b)(2).
(2) A form prescribed under IC 3-5-4-8 that identifies the
applicant as an absent uniformed services voter, an overseas
voter, or a voter with print disabilities. A form prescribed under
this subdivision must permit the applicant to designate whether
the applicant wishes to receive the absentee ballot by electronic
mail, fax, or United States mail.
(d) If the county election board receives an absentee ballot
application from a person described by subsection (c), the circuit court
clerk shall mail to the person, free of postage as provided by 39 U.S.C.
3406, all ballots for the election immediately upon receipt of the ballots
under section 15 of this chapter, unless the person has indicated under
subsection (c) that the person wishes to receive the absentee ballot by
electronic mail or fax.
(e) Whenever a voter files an application for an absentee ballot and
indicates on the application that the voter is an absent uniformed
services voter, an overseas voter, or a voter with print disabilities, the
application is an adequate application for an absentee ballot for an
election conducted during the period that ends on December 31
following the date the application is filed, unless an absentee ballot
mailed to the voter at the address set forth in the application is returned
to the county election board during that period as undeliverable. The
circuit court clerk and county election board shall process this
application and send general election absentee ballots to the voter in
the same manner as other general election and special election absentee
ballot applications and ballots are processed and sent under this
chapter. If a voter entitled to receive an absentee ballot under this
subsection subsequently files a voter registration application for a
change of address within the same county or for a change of name or
other information set forth in the voter's registration record, the
previously approved absentee ballot application remains effective for
the same period, unless the acknowledgment notice sent to the voter at
that address is returned by the United States Postal Service due to an
unknown or insufficient address in accordance with IC 3-7-33-5. If a
voter entitled to receive an absentee ballot under this subsection
subsequently files a voter registration application for an address that is
not located in the same county, the voter must file a new absentee
ballot application under this section with the appropriate county
election board.
(f) Whenever a voter described in subsection (a)(2) files an
application for a primary election absentee ballot and indicates on the
application that the voter is an address confidentiality program
participant, the application is an adequate application for a general
election absentee ballot under this chapter and an absentee ballot for a
special election conducted during the period that ends on December 31
following the date the application is filed. The circuit court clerk and
county election board shall process this application and send general
election and special election absentee ballots to the voter in the same
manner as other general election and special election absentee ballot
applications and ballots are processed and sent under this chapter.
(g) The name, address, telephone number, and any other identifying
information relating to a program participant (as defined in IC 5-26.5-1-6) in the address confidentiality program, as contained in a
voting registration record, is declared confidential for purposes of IC 5-14-3-4(a)(1). The county voter registration office may not disclose
for public inspection or copying a name, an address, a telephone
number, or any other information described in this subsection, as
contained in a voting registration record, except as follows:
(1) To a law enforcement agency, upon request.
(2) As directed by a court order.
(h) The county election board shall by fax or electronic mail
transmit an absentee ballot to and receive an absentee ballot from an
absent uniformed services voter, an overseas voter, or a voter with print
disabilities by electronic mail or fax at the request of the voter
indicated in the application filed under this section. If the voter wants
to submit absentee ballots by fax or electronic mail, the voter must
separately sign and date a statement submitted with the electronic mail
or the fax transmission that states substantively the following: "I
understand that by faxing or e-mailing my voted ballot I am voluntarily
waiving my right to a secret ballot.".
(i) The county election board shall send confirmation to a voter
described in subsection (h) that the voter's absentee ballot has been
received as follows:
(1) If the voter provides a fax number to which a confirmation
may be sent, the county election board shall send the confirmation
to the voter at the fax number provided by the voter.
(2) If the voter provides an electronic mail address to which a
confirmation may be sent, the county election board shall send the
confirmation to the voter at the electronic mail address provided
by the voter.
(3) If:
(A) the voter does not provide a fax number or an electronic
mail address; or
(B) the number or address provided does not permit the board
to send the confirmation not later than the end of the first
business day after the board receives the voter's absentee ballot;
the county election board shall send the confirmation by United
States mail.
The county election board shall send the confirmation required by this
subsection not later than the end of the first business day after the
county election board receives the voter's absentee ballot.
(j) Upon approval of the voter's absentee ballot application, a county
election board shall transmit an absentee ballot to an absent uniformed
services voter or an overseas voter by electronic mail under a program
authorized and administered by the Federal Voting Assistance Program
of the United States Department of Defense or directly to the voter at
the voter's electronic mail address, if requested to do so by the voter. A
voter described by this section may transmit the voted absentee ballot
to a county election board by electronic mail. If a voter described in
this section transmits the voted absentee ballot through the United
States Department of Defense program, the ballot must be transmitted
in accordance with the procedures established under that program. An
electronic mail message transmitting a voted absentee ballot under this
subsection must include a digital image of the voter's signature on the
statement required under subsection (h).
(k) The secretary of state, with the approval of the election division,
shall develop a system that complies with the Web Content Guidelines.
[Pre-1986 Recodification Citation: 3-1-22-3 part.]

Legislative History

As added by P.L.5-1986, SEC.7. Amended by P.L.6-1986, SEC.17; P.L.14-1987, SEC.3; P.L.10-1989, SEC.8; P.L.7-1990, SEC.43; P.L.8-1992, SEC.20; P.L.3-1997, SEC.274; P.L.273-2001, SEC.1; P.L.126-2002, SEC.51; P.L.1-2003, SEC.4; P.L.209-2003, SEC.113; P.L.198-2005, SEC.2; P.L.66-2010, SEC.14; P.L.225-2011, SEC.55; P.L.219-2013, SEC.36; P.L.128-2015, SEC.158; P.L.201-2017, SEC.28; P.L.109-2021, SEC.22; P.L.227-2023, SEC.76; P.L.153-2024, SEC.12.