Indiana 2023 Regular Session

Indiana House Bill HB1632 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	Introduced Version
3	3	HOUSE BILL No. 1632
4	4	_____
5	5	DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
6	6	Citations Affected: IC 3-5-2-30; IC 3-8; IC 3-10-2-15.
7	7	Synopsis: Ballot access for major and minor parties. Provides that the
8	8	term "major political party" refers to: (1) with respect to the state, any
9	9	of the parties whose nominees received more than 2,500 votes
10	10	statewide for secretary of state in the last election; or (2) with respect
11	11	to a political subdivision, any of the parties whose nominees received
12	12	more than 250 votes in that political subdivision for secretary of state
13	13	in the last election. Provides that a political party whose nominee
14	14	received at least 2,500 votes but less than 25% of the votes cast for
15	15	secretary of state at the last election shall nominate the party's
16	16	candidates at a state convention and for certain local offices at a county
17	17	convention. Permits a petition of nomination for an independent or
18	18	minor political party to be signed by 250 registered voters in the
19	19	election district that the candidate seeks to represent.
20	20	Effective: July 1, 2023.
21	21	Dvorak
22	22	January 19, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Elections and
23	23	Apportionment.
24	24	2023 IN 1632—LS 7475/DI 51 Introduced
25	25	First Regular Session of the 123rd General Assembly (2023)
26	26	PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
27	27	Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
28	28	additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
29	29	Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
30	30	provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
31	31	word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
32	32	a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
33	33	Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
34	34	between statutes enacted by the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
35	35	HOUSE BILL No. 1632
36	36	A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
37	37	elections.
38	38	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
39	39	1 SECTION 1. IC 3-5-2-30 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
40	40	2 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2023]: Sec. 30. "Major political party" refers to:
41	41	3 (1) with respect to the state, either any of the two (2) parties
42	42	4 whose nominees received the highest and second highest numbers
43	43	5 of more than two thousand five hundred (2,500) votes
44	44	6 statewide for secretary of state in the last election; or
45	45	7 (2) with respect to a political subdivision, either any of the two
46	46	8 (2) parties whose nominees received the highest and second
47	47	9 highest numbers of more than:
48	48	10 (A) two hundred fifty (250) votes in that political subdivision
49	49	11 for secretary of state in the last election; or
50	50	12 (B) if the total number of votes in that political subdivision
51	51	13 for secretary of state in the last election was five hundred
52	52	14 (500) or fewer, the highest and second highest numbers of
53	53	15 votes in that political subdivision for secretary of state in
54	54	16 the last election.
55	55	17 SECTION 2. IC 3-8-4-1 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
56	56	2023 IN 1632—LS 7475/DI 51 2
57	57	1 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2023]: Sec. 1. This chapter applies to each
58	58	2 political party in the state whose nominee received at least two percent
59	59	3 (2%) two thousand five hundred (2,500) votes of the total vote cast
60	60	4 for secretary of state at the last election.
61	61	5 SECTION 3. IC 3-8-4-10, AS AMENDED BY P.L.278-2019,
62	62	6 SECTION 23, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
63	63	7 JULY 1, 2023]: Sec. 10. (a) This section applies to a political party
64	64	8 whose nominee received at least two percent (2%) two thousand five
65	65	9 hundred (2,500) votes but less than ten twenty-five percent (10%)
66	66	10 (25%) of the votes cast for secretary of state at the last election for that
67	67	11 office.
68	68	12 (b) A political party subject to this section shall also nominate the
69	69	13 party's candidates for the following offices at the state convention of
70	70	14 the party:
71	71	15 (1) United States Senator.
72	72	16 (2) United States Representative.
73	73	17 (3) Governor.
74	74	18 (4) Legislative office.
75	75	19 (5) A local office listed in IC 3-8-2-5.
76	76	20 (c) A question concerning the validity of a candidate's nomination
77	77	21 under this section for a federal office or a local office listed in
78	78	22 IC 3-8-2-5 shall be determined by the commission in accordance with
79	79	23 IC 3-13-1-16.5(a).
80	80	24 SECTION 4. IC 3-8-6-3 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
81	81	25 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2023]: Sec. 3. (a) A petition of nomination must
82	82	26 be signed by the lesser of:
83	83	27 (1) at least the number of voters equal to two percent (2%) of the
84	84	28 total vote cast at the last election for secretary of state in the
85	85	29 election district that the candidate seeks to represent; or
86	86	30 (2) at least two hundred fifty (250) registered voters in the
87	87	31 election district that the candidate seeks to represent.
88	88	32 (b) In determining the number of signatures required under this
89	89	33 section, any fraction in excess of a whole number must be disregarded.
90	90	34 SECTION 5. IC 3-8-7-25, AS AMENDED BY P.L.169-2015,
91	91	35 SECTION 66, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
92	92	36 JULY 1, 2023]: Sec. 25. Each county election board shall have printed
93	93	37 on the respective general, special, or municipal election ballots the
94	94	38 names of the following candidates:
95	95	39 (1) Nominees chosen at a primary election under IC 3-10 and
96	96	40 certified as required by this chapter.
97	97	41 (2) Nominees chosen by a convention of a political party in the
98	98	42 state whose candidate received at least two percent (2%) two
99	99	2023 IN 1632—LS 7475/DI 51 3
100	100	1 thousand five hundred (2,500) votes of the total vote cast for
101	101	2 secretary of state at the last election and certified under section 8
102	102	3 of this chapter.
103	103	4 (3) Nominees nominated by petition under IC 3-8-6.
104	104	5 (4) Nominees selected to fill a candidate vacancy under IC 3-13-1
105	105	6 or IC 3-13-2.
106	106	7 SECTION 6. IC 3-10-2-15 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
107	107	8 FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2023]: Sec. 15. (a) This section
108	108	9 applies to a political party whose nominee received at least two percent
109	109	10 (2%) two thousand five hundred (2,500) votes but less than ten
110	110	11 twenty-five percent (10%) (25%) of the votes cast for secretary of
111	111	12 state at the last election for that office.
112	112	13 (b) This section applies only to a local office that is:
113	113	14 (1) not listed in IC 3-8-2-5; and
114	114	15 (2) not a municipal office subject to IC 3-8-5-17 or IC 3-10-6-12.
115	115	16 (c) A political party subject to this section shall nominate the party's
116	116	17 candidate for a local office at a county convention of the party
117	117	18 conducted not later than noon on the date specified by
118	118	19 IC 3-13-1-7(a)(1) for a major political party to act to fill a candidate
119	119	20 vacancy.
120	120	21 (d) The chairman and secretary of the convention shall execute a
121	121	22 certificate of nomination in writing, setting out the following:
122	122	23 (1) The name of each nominee as:
123	123	24 (A) the nominee wants the nominee's name to appear on the
124	124	25 ballot; and
125	125	26 (B) the nominee's name is permitted to appear on the ballot
126	126	27 under IC 3-5-7.
127	127	28 (2) The residence address of each nominee.
128	128	29 (3) The office for which each nominee was nominated.
129	129	30 (4) That each nominee is legally qualified to hold office.
130	130	31 (5) The political party device or emblem by which the ticket will
131	131	32 be designated on the ballot.
132	132	33 Both the chairman and secretary shall acknowledge the certificate
133	133	34 before an officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds.
134	134	35 (e) Each candidate nominated under this section shall execute a
135	135	36 consent to the nomination in the same form as a candidate nominated
136	136	37 by petition under IC 3-8-6.
137	137	38 (f) The certificate required by subsection (d) and the consent
138	138	39 required by subsection (e) must be filed with the circuit court clerk of
139	139	40 the county containing the greatest percentage of population of the
140	140	41 election district for which the candidate has been nominated by the
141	141	42 convention not later than noon on the date specified by IC 3-13-1-15(c)
142	142	2023 IN 1632—LS 7475/DI 51 4
143	143	1 for a major political party to file a certificate of candidate selection.
144	144	2 (g) A candidate's consent to the nomination must include a
145	145	3 statement that the candidate requests the name on the candidate's voter
146	146	4 registration record be the same as the name the candidate uses on the
147	147	5 consent to the nomination. If there is a difference between the name on
148	148	6 the candidate's consent to the nomination and the name on the
149	149	7 candidate's voter registration record, the officer with whom the consent
150	150	8 to the nomination is filed shall forward the information to the voter
151	151	9 registration officer of the appropriate county. The voter registration
152	152	10 officer of the appropriate county shall change the name on the
153	153	11 candidate's voter registration record to be the same as the name on the
154	154	12 candidate's consent to the nomination.
155	155	13 (h) A question concerning the validity of a candidate's nomination
156	156	14 under this section shall be determined by a county election board in
157	157	15 accordance with IC 3-13-1-16.5(b) and IC 3-13-1-16.5(c).
158	158	16 (i) A nominee who wants to withdraw must file a notice of
159	159	17 withdrawal in accordance with IC 3-8-7-28.
160	160	2023 IN 1632—LS 7475/DI 51