Sec. 16. (a) As used in this section, “electioneering” means making a verbal statement, displaying a written statement indicating support or opposition to a candidate, political party, or public question appearing on the ballot, or wearing or displaying an article of clothing, sign, button, or placard that states:

(1) the name of any political party or includes the name, picture, photograph, or other likeness of any candidate or currently elected federal, state, county, or local official; or

Attorney's Note

Under the Indiana Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class A misdemeanorup to 1 yearup to $5,000
For details, see Ind. Code § 35-50-3-2

Terms Used In Indiana Code 3-14-3-16

  • Clerk: means the clerk of the court or a person authorized to perform the clerk's duties. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
(2) support for the approval or defeat of a public question.

     (b) The term does not include expressing support or opposition to a candidate or a political party or expressing approval or disapproval of a public question in:

(1) material mailed to a voter; or

(2) a telephone or an electronic communication with a voter.

     (c) A person who knowingly does any electioneering:

(1) on election day within:

(A) the polls; or

(B) the chute;

(2) before election day within:

(A) the office of the circuit court clerk or a satellite office of the circuit court clerk established under Ind. Code § 3-11-10-26.3 used by an absentee voter board to permit an individual to cast an absentee ballot; or

(B) fifty (50) feet of the entrance to the office of the circuit court clerk or satellite office; or

(3) except for a voter who is:

(A) the person’s spouse;

(B) an incapacitated person (as defined in Ind. Code § 29-3-1-7.5) for whom the person has been appointed the guardian (as defined in Ind. Code § 29-3-1-6); or

(C) a member of the person’s household;

in the presence of a voter whom the person knows possesses an absentee ballot provided to the voter in accordance with Indiana law;

commits a Class A misdemeanor.

As added by P.L.5-1986, SEC.10. Amended by P.L.3-1997, SEC.405; P.L.66-2003, SEC.52; P.L.14-2004, SEC.177; P.L.103-2005, SEC.35; P.L.164-2006, SEC.132; P.L.194-2013, SEC.98; P.L.209-2021, SEC.11.