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Indiana is one of only a few states that allows straight-ticket voting with just one mark on ballot

A voter's hand is about to press a button on a voting machine.
Lauren Chapman
/
IPB News
Indiana is one of only seven states that allows people to vote for all the members of a political party with just one mark on their ballot.

Indiana is one of only seven states that allows people to vote for all the members of a political party with just one mark on their ballot.

Near the top of the ballot, before voters see individual candidates, they’re given a choice: select one political party and automatically vote for almost all the candidates on the rest of the ballot aligned with that party.

If a voter selects the straight party option and then selects a candidate from another party in an individual race, that vote is recorded for that individual candidate. The other races are still selected by political party.

READ MORE: What do I need on Election Day? The general election is Nov. 5

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The "almost all candidates" is important because there are some races on the ballot that straight-ticket voting doesn’t apply to. If a race allows voters to select multiple candidates — such as at-large seats on local boards and councils — the straight-ticket vote won’t work. People will have to choose candidates in those races.

Straight-ticket voting also doesn’t apply to nonpartisan candidates and ballot referendums. This year, that includes school board races, judicial retention questions and approval of a constitutional amendment.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

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Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.