Senate Bill 51 Summary

• Eliminates straight ticket voting in general and municipal elections, removing the option for voters to cast a single vote for all candidates of one political party at once, effective January 1, 2014.

• Maintains straight ticket voting only for presidential electors; all other offices require individual candidate selection.

• Repeals superseded statutes related to straight ticket voting procedures for ballot card systems, optical scan ballots, and electronic voting systems (IC 3-11-7-4, IC 3-11-7-6, IC 3-11-11-10, IC 3-11-13-14, and others).

• Removes instructions and ballot positions designated for straight party ticket voting from ballot requirements while retaining instructions for write-in voting and other standard ballot information.

• Simplifies vote counting rules by eliminating complex provisions addressing conflicts between straight ticket votes and individual candidate votes that previously applied when voters split their ballots.