Ballots other than those specified in IC 3-11-4-12.5; preparation and printing under direction of county election board; printing on security paper

Sec. 14. (a) All absentee ballots other than those specified in section 12.5 of this chapter shall be: (1) prepared and printed under the direction of each county election board; and (2) after December 31, 2024, printed on security paper that incorporates features which can be used to authenticate the ballot as an official ballot but which do not make the ballot identifiable to a particular voter. After completing the estimate required by section 10 of this chapter and receiving all certifications from the election division required under IC 3-8 or IC 3-10, the county election board shall immediately proceed to prepare and have printed the ballots. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c), ballots prepared by the county election board under this section must provide space for the voter to cast a write-in ballot. (c) Space for write-in voting for an office is not required if there are no declared write-in candidates for that office. However, procedures must be implemented to permit write-in voting for candidates for federal offices.