Early voting starts Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Hamilton County. Voters who plan to vote a straight party ticket should know that a single selection won’t complete their ballot.

According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Indiana is one of six states that still let voters choose all of one party’s candidates with one mark. But state law leaves out several parts of the ballot. In those contests, a straight-ticket vote doesn’t count, and voters have to mark each choice themselves. If they don’t, that race is left blank.

School board

The newest exception is school board races. That includes four of the seven Hamilton Southeastern Schools board seats on the ballot this year.

Senate Bill 287, signed by Gov. Mike Braun in 2025, lets school board candidates list a Republican or Democratic affiliation, run as independents, or list no party at all. Even when a party label appears next to a candidate’s name, a straight-ticket vote does not count in that race. HSE board members are elected by district, so voters see only the race for the district where they live.

School funding referendum questions also need an additional vote cast past the straight-party vote.  HSE has a referendum on this year’s ballot.

Township boards

Township board members are elected three at a time, and voters may choose up to three candidates. Under a law signed in March 2016 by then-Gov. Mike Pence, a straight-ticket vote no longer counts in races where voters elect more than one candidate. This year that affects township board races, including those in Fall Creek and Delaware townships.

State officials said the change was made because voter intent was unclear when people marked a straight ticket and then also marked individual candidates in multi-seat races.

Judicial retention

Hamilton County voters will be asked whether to retain Court of Appeals Judge Dana J. Kenworthy, Court of Appeals Judge Mary A. DeBoer, Court of Appeals Judge Paul A. Felix and Tax Court Judge Justin L. McAdam. Retention questions are yes-or-no votes with no party label, so a straight-ticket vote doesn’t apply. No Indiana Supreme Court justices are up for retention this year.

Two constitutional amendments

Public questions aren’t partisan races, and both proposed amendments to the Indiana Constitution need a separate yes or no vote:

• Question 1 would let judges deny bail to people charged with crimes other than murder or treason. A judge could do so only when the proof is evident or the presumption strong, and the state shows by clear and convincing evidence that no release conditions would reasonably protect others or the community. Right now, the constitution allows denying bail only in murder and treason cases.
• Question 2 would let a city or town court judge live in the court’s county or in the bordering county closest to that city or town.

Check your ballot first

Through Oct. 20, early voting is available only in Noblesville, at the Hamilton County Judicial Center and the Hamilton County Fairgrounds. The two Fishers sites, at the Roy G. Holland Memorial Park Building and the Billericay Park Building, open Oct. 21. Bring a photo ID.

For full hours, visit hamiltoncounty.in.gov or call the Hamilton County Voter Registration Office at 317-776-9632.