Indiana § 3-14-5-2 - Packaging, sealing, preserving, and delivering affidavits; duties of grand jury

§ 3-14-5-2. Packaging, sealing, preserving, and delivering affidavits; duties of grand jury

Sec. 2. (a) Each precinct election board shall, at the close of the polls, place any affidavit prescribed by IC 3-10-1-9 to challenge the party affiliation of a person wishing to cast a ballot in a primary election in a strong paper bag or envelope and securely seal it. Each member shall endorse that member's name on the back of the bag or envelope.

(b) Each precinct election board shall, at the close of the polls, place any affidavit:

(1) other than an affidavit described in subsection (a) that is challenging the eligibility of a person who has offered to vote at a primary election; and

(2) including the form printed on the face of the provisional ballot envelope described in IC 3-11.7-5-3;

in a strong paper bag or envelope and securely seal it. Each member shall endorse that member's name on the back of the bag or envelope.

(c) The inspector and judge of the opposite political party shall deliver the sealed bags or envelopes to the county election board. The county election board shall do the following:

(1) Remove the affidavits described in subsections (a) and (b) from the bag or envelope and make three (3) copies of each affidavit.

(2) Mail a copy of each affidavit to the secretary of state.

(3) Replace the affidavits within the bag or envelope and keep the affidavits secure in accordance with IC 3-10-1-31.1. The affidavits may be removed from the bag or envelope by the county election board during a meeting or hearing when the affidavit is to be reviewed under this title.

(4) Reseal the bag or envelope containing the affidavits with the endorsement of the name of each county election board member on the back of the bag or envelope immediately after the county election board determines which provisional ballots can be counted and not counted under IC 3-11.7.

(5) Carefully preserve the resealed bag or envelope in accordance with IC 3-10-1-31.1.

(d) The county election board shall do the following after the conclusion of the period for filing a petition for a recount or contest described in IC 3-10-1-31.1(b) and IC 3-10-1-31.1(c) during which election materials are required to be sealed by the circuit court clerk:

(1) Retain one (1) copy of each affidavit to make available for public inspection and copying under IC 5-14-3.

(2) Deliver one (1) copy of each affidavit, sealed in a bag or envelope by the county election board, to the prosecuting attorney of the county.

(e) The grand jury shall inquire into the truth or falsity of the affidavits, and the court having jurisdiction over the grand jury shall specially charge the jury as to its duties under this section. The grand jury or prosecuting attorney of the county where the grand jury is sitting may request the original affidavit from the circuit court clerk if the grand jury determines that it is necessary to review the original affidavit during the inquiry.

(f) The grand jury shall file a report of the result of its inquiry with:

(1) the court; and

(2) the NVRA official if a violation of NVRA appears to have occurred.

(g) If the original affidavit is delivered to the grand jury or the prosecuting attorney under subsection (e), the prosecuting attorney shall:

(1) preserve the affidavit and envelope in accordance with IC 3-10-1-31.1;

(2) ensure that no person can access a provisional ballot contained in the envelope that the affidavit described in subsection (b) is printed on; and

(3) return the affidavit and envelope to the circuit court clerk after the prosecuting attorney has completed any proceeding resulting from the investigation of the affidavit and envelope.

As added by P.L.5-1986, SEC.10. Amended by P.L.12-1995, SEC.91; P.L.2-1996, SEC.208; P.L.3-1997, SEC.408; P.L.230-2005, SEC.67; P.L.157-2019, SEC.39; P.L.227-2023, SEC.132; P.L.153-2024, SEC.26; P.L.1-2025, SEC.4.