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

By Brandon Smith, IPB News | Published on in Government, Politics
Partial images of an Indiana absentee ballot.
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 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

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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.

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