County election board appointments for absentee vote processing; eligibility; service by candidate or candidate's relative

Sec. 22. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), each county election board shall appoint: (1) absentee voter boards; (2) teams of absentee ballot counters; and (3) teams of couriers; consisting of two (2) voters of the county, one (1) from each of the two (2) political parties that have appointed members on the county election board. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a county election board: (1) may appoint, by a unanimous vote of the board's members, only one (1) absentee ballot courier if the person appointed is a voter of the county; and (2) shall not appoint teams of couriers, if the county: (A) has adopted an order to use an electronic poll book under IC 3-7-29-6(a)(1); or (B) is a vote center county under IC 3-11-18.1. (c) An otherwise qualified person is eligible to serve on an absentee voter board or as an absentee ballot counter or a courier unless the person: (1) is unable to read, write, and speak the English language; (2) has any property bet or wagered on the result of the election; (3) is a candidate to be voted for at the election except as an unopposed candidate for a city office, town office, township office, school board office, precinct committeeman, or state convention delegate; or (4) is the spouse, parent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of a candidate or declared write-in candidate to be voted for at the election except as an unopposed candidate. This subdivision disqualifies a person whose relationship to the candidate is the result of birth, marriage, or adoption. (d) A person who is a candidate to be voted for at the election or who is related to a candidate in a manner that would result in disqualification under subsection (c) may, notwithstanding subsection (c), serve as a member of an absentee voter board if: (1) the candidate is seeking nomination or election to an office in an election district that does not consist of the entire county; and (2) the county election board restricts the duties of the person as an absentee voter board member to performing functions that could have no influence on the casting or counting of absentee ballots within the election district.