The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana bill mandates hand-counted paper ballots, bans electronic voting machines and early voting, and establishes an election crimes unit
Last action · January 5, 2026: First reading: referred to Committee on Elections and ApportionmentSponsor: Lorissa Sweet
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Indiana House Bill 1166 overhauls state election procedures by requiring all elections to be conducted using hand-marked paper ballots that are counted by hand on election day. The measure prohibits early in-person voting, vote centers, Internet voting, mass mail-in voting, ballot drop boxes, and electronic pollbooks, while establishing an election crimes unit within the Office of the Attorney General.
Residents face a complete shift in how they cast and verify ballots, transitioning exclusively to in-person election-day voting with hand-marked and hand-counted paper systems, while third-party voter registration activities and digital identifications are prohibited.
- Indiana currently utilizes a combination of electronic voting machines, vote centers, and early in-person voting options across its counties. context
- VSTOP (Voting System Technical Oversight Program) was previously established to inventory and oversee voting systems and electronic poll books in the state. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Indiana voters
Voters must cast ballots exclusively on election day using hand-marked paper ballots, face restrictions on absentee voting, and are subject to new identification rules.
County clerks
County clerks must create and print paper pollbooks, supervise public inspection of election materials, and certify hand-counted precinct results.
Precinct workers
Precinct workers must hand-count ballots beginning at 7 a.m. on election day under video recording and sign final tally records under penalties of perjury.
Third-party organizations
Third-party groups are prohibited from requesting, filling out, mailing, or hand-delivering voter registration forms, or offering enticements.
Key Facts
- All Indiana elections must be conducted using secure, hand-marked paper ballots designed and made in Indiana, bearing a distinctive watermark and numeric serialization.
- Ballots must be counted by hand beginning at 7 a.m. on election day by two counters under video surveillance, with mail-in ballots opened and counted at noon.
- Machines and electronic devices are prohibited in precinct polling places, except for one voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities.
- Early in-person voting, vote centers, Internet voting, mass mail-in voting, ballot harvesting, and ballot drop boxes are prohibited.
Show all 10 facts
- The use of pollbooks in any form other than paper is prohibited, and digital identification is not accepted for registration or voting.
- The Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP) is prohibited from operating after June 30, 2026, and its funds are transferred to the state general fund.
- The Attorney General must establish an election crimes unit (ECU) to investigate election law violations and operate a voter fraud hotline.
- Violations of the chapter constitute a Class A misdemeanor and carry a 10-year deprivation of the right of suffrage.
- Absentee ballots are restricted to military members, individuals with disabilities, voters working the entire time polls are open, overseas voters, and elderly voters at least 65 years of age.
- Third-party organizations are prohibited from requesting voter registrations, filling out or mailing registration forms, returning forms by hand, or offering enticements for registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still vote early or use a ballot drop box?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Jan 5, 2026HouseIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Elections and Apportionment
- Jan 5, 2026HouseAuthored by Representative Sweet
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Complete Transition to Manual Processes
The legislation represents a complete pivot from automated and electronic election infrastructure back to mandatory hand-marked and hand-counted paper ballots.
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 90)
- Controversy90Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz85Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools