Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Indiana mail-in ballots must be returned by 6 p.m. on Election Day

Indiana absentee, mail-in ballots must be returned to county election administrators by 6 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots postmarked before then, but not received by then, do not count.
FILE PHOTO: Justin Hicks / IPB News
Indiana absentee, mail-in ballots must be returned to county election administrators by 6 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots postmarked before then, but not received by then, do not count.

Indiana voters who are casting mail-in ballots this fall must get those ballots back to their county election administrator by 6 p.m. on Election Day.

U.S. Postal Service leaders are recommending voters get their absentee ballots in the mail at least one week ahead of their state’s deadline — for Indiana, that means Tuesday, Oct. 29.

That’s because Indiana does not count ballots received after 6 p.m. on Election Day, no matter when you put it in the mail or when it was postmarked.

READ MORE: These are the most common mistakes election boards see on mail-in ballot applications, at the polls
 

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 765-275-1120. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues and the election, including our project Civically, Indiana .
 

But you don’t have to return your absentee ballot by mail. You or a family member can bring the sealed, signed voting envelope with ballot inside to an early voting location in your county or to your county election administrator’s office.

Under Indiana law, family members allowed to mail back or return a voter’s absentee ballot are a:



  • spouse

  • parent

  • father-in-law

  • mother-in-law

  • child

  • son-in-law

  • daughter-in-law

  • grandparent

  • grandchild

  • brother

  • sister

  • brother-in-law

  • sister-in-law

  • uncle

  • aunt

  • nephew
  • or niece

     


 

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

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.
Support independent journalism today. You rely on WFYI to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Donate to power our nonprofit reporting today. Give now.