Answering the question, ‘Who is on my ballot?’

The question comes at about this time every year — readers calling and stopping by asking for a “complete list of who is on their ballot.”

“When did you publish it?” they ask. “Why hasn’t it been in the paper?”

Here is the answer to those questions.

First, and this is a surprise to even many long-time voters, not everyone’s ballot is the same. That’s because some races are in districts — examples of those are county council, state representatives, state senate, U.S. House of Representatives. And if you don’t live in the district of that particular county, state or federal race, it won’t appear on your ballot. But it will appear on someone else’s ballot who lives in that particular district.

So someone who lives on the south side of Bartholomew County may be voting in the District 69 state representative race, while a voter in northern Bartholomew County will be voting in a different state representative race.

It depends on where you live.

So how does a voter find out what their ballot will look like when they go to the polls, either for early voting or on Nov. 5, election day?

There is an easy way to get this information.

Go to https://indianavoters.in.gov/. On this website, you may:

  • Register to vote (that deadline has passed for the Nov. 5 election).
  • Update your voter registration
  • Confirm your registration
  • See who is on your ballot
  • See a list of your elected officials
  • Find your polling place
  • Track/request an absentee ballot
  • Track a provisional ballot

In addition to that resource, the Bartholomew County Clerk’s office has information on early voting, a link to the Indiana voters site and more on its website: https://www.bartholomew.in.gov/clerk.html.

Also, The Republic also published a Voter’s Guide in print earlier this month, giving information about voter eligibility and more. If you missed the print version, you can view it online at:

https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/voter-guide/2024/.

And please remember, your vote is important. Early voting is underway now, and voting centers in Bartholomew County will be open and ready on Nov. 5.