By Marilyn Odendahl for The Indiana Citizen.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Indiana Citizen-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration.

Hoosiers going to the polls in November will find a question on their ballots, asking if they want to amend the Indiana Constitution to revise the list of elected state officials who could succeed the governor.

The proposed amendment revises Article 5, Section 10, which outlines the process for succession if the sitting governor resigns, dies or becomes incapacitated. Namely, the lieutenant governor would be elevated to governor, but if the second-in-command also cannot fulfill the duties of the top office, then the Indiana General Assembly would have to convene within 48 hours to elect a governor from the same political party as the immediate past governor.

In the interim between the governor and lieutenant governor's offices becoming vacant and the legislature installing a new governor, the constitution provides a list of elected officials who would discharge the powers and duties of the governor. Sixth on that list is the state superintendent of public instruction, but since that position was switched from elected to appointed in 2021, Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, thought the state's top education official should no longer be in line to assume the governor's office.

"The question on the ballot is really clean-up language from when the state superintendent of public instruction was changed to the secretary of education," Prescott said. "Since we no longer have that state superintendent of public instruction, we're striking that language to allow parity with the other elected positions that are in that line of succession, so we do not have a path in place for an appointed position to be acting governor."

Unlike the proposed constitutional amendments the General Assembly sent to Hoosiers in the past, capping property taxes, prohibiting same-sex marriage, and protecting the right to hunt and fish, the succession amendment has not garnered any attention, let alone controversy. The amendment passed through the required two separate sessions of the legislature as a House Joint Resolution with no debate, no attempts to change the language and with only seven votes cast against it during the 2022 session.

Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, said the amendment was noncontroversial, noting in her 40 years of public advocacy, she had never heard anyone concerned about the succession for state governor. Still, she said, making this update to the constitution is important even though the superintendent is at the bottom of the succession list and likely would never get tapped to serve as governor.

"It probably does make sense to remove that position from the succession plan," Vaughn said. "But, I think Hoosiers would rather be asked constitutional questions that are a little bit more impactful to their everyday lives. It would be nice if we had the opportunity to weigh in directly, as voters, on issues like gerrymandering and abortion."

Wanting to clean up an oversight

Indiana did not have a governor who was elected to the office and served a complete term until Noah Noble, the fifth person to serve as the state leader, according to the Capitol & Washington blog. The four proceeding governors, including Indiana's first governor, Jonathan Jennings, either left office before their terms were over or assumed the office under legal succession. Noble was elected governor in December 1831 and remained in the office until December 1837, when his term ended.

Most recently, Indiana's constitutional succession process was enacted when Gov. Frank O'Bannon died in September 2003, during his second term in office. Then-Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan became governor and served until Mitch Daniels was elected and sworn into office in January 2005.

Under the Indiana Constitution, the line of succession for Indiana governor begins with the lieutenant governor. If both the governor and lieutenant governor positions are vacant, then the constitution offers an ordered list of elected officials who would be tapped to serve as governor.

The speaker of the Indiana House is at the top of the list, but if that office is vacant or if that individual is unable to perform the gubernatorial duties, the president pro tempore of the Indiana Senate would step in. If the Senate president's seat is vacant, then the state treasurer would take over, followed by the state auditor and then the secretary of state.

At the bottom of the list is the state superintendent of public instruction who would assume the duties of governor only if the five previous elected officials could not do so.

The superintendent was an elected position until the legislature passed the law abolishing the office in 2017 and created the Indiana secretary of education position. As part of that change, lawmakers made the secretary a position appointed by the governor.

Katie Jenner was appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb as Indiana's first secretary of education in 2022.

Prescott said he discovered the language in the line of succession needed updating when he was reading through the Indiana Constitution. Every year, he sets aside time to read both the U.S. Constitution and the Indiana Constitution prior to Organization Day, the ceremonial start to the upcoming legislative session.

"We take an oath to uphold both the United States Constitution and the state of Indiana's constitution every year on Organization Day," Prescott said, noting he also encourages other legislators to read the constitutions. "Every word in our constitution, every word in statute, they're all there for a reason, so you have to pay attention to all those details."

Once he found what he considered to be a problem, Prescott said he sought input from House leaders to make them aware of the wording and to see if they had any thoughts or concerns about amending the provision. Leadership acknowledged, he said, that the succession language should be cleaned up.

Also, Prescott said, he did notify the Indiana secretary of education, before he introduced the resolution calling for the amendment. No one in the executive branch had any concerns, he said.

"Everyone that I talked to said, 'Yeah, it makes sense to strike that from the constitution, because (the superintendent's) position is no longer there,''' Prescott said. "It was kind of an oversight that we need to make sure we clean it up."

Hoosiers need to know before they vote

Although the amendment has not attracted much attention in the two years it rolled through the Statehouse, Prescott is confident that Hoosiers will learn about the proposed change to the state's constitution as Election Day get closer and more media outlets report on ballot issues. He said the key is educating voters about the rationale for the amendment, but he does not see a need for a "full out campaign" to raise public awareness.

Vaughn agreed that only state officials elected by the voters should be in line to succeed the governor. However, because this amendment "really has been flying under the radar screen," she said Hoosiers have to be informed and given time to think about the revision to the line of succession before they go to the polls. Already, she noted, Indiana has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country and often voters say they do not participate in elections because they do not know enough about what is on the ballot to make an informed decision.

"I don't think we need to give Hoosiers yet another excuse to say, 'Well, I don't know enough. I'm just going to sit this one out,'" Vaughn said. "From the top of the ballot to the bottom, things like these constitutional questions, it's all important. We do a disservice to Hoosiers by not making them fully aware of each and every choice they're going to be asked to make on Election Day."


Marilyn Odendahl wrote this article for The Indiana Citizen.


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As Hurricane Milton makes landfall and Florida recovers from Hurricane Helene's devastation, voting rights groups have filed a legal challenge to reopen the state's registration period, which ended on Monday.

Larry Hannan, communications director with State Voices Florida, expressed his support for the efforts to give Floridians more time to register amid the chaos caused by back-to-back natural disasters.

"Technically, the deadline was Monday, but I would be surprised if anyone or very many people thought 'oh I need to go out and register to vote' when they were trying to pack up their car and trying to get to somewhere else, not knowing if when they came back their house would be livable," he said.

Voting rights groups, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, League of Women Voters of Florida, and the NAACP Florida State Conference, filed suit claiming the state's refusal to extend the voter registration deadline disenfranchised many Floridians. Before Hurricane Milton, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order allowing election changes in 10 counties impacted by Hurricane Helene, permitting adjustments to early voting sites and creating consolidated voting centers.

Hannan said that while it may take some effort on the state's part, Florida officials should follow South Carolina's example and extend the voter registration deadline as people recover.

"This is an issue of fairness, and I think it impacts all voters of Florida. This is not a liberal or conservative issue," he continued. "You know, people coming into Florida or people turning 18 can be liberal or conservative."

Florida is no stranger to adjusting election procedures after major storms. The state granted flexibility to election officials, allowing the consolidation of polling places following Hurricane Ian in Southwest Florida in 2022 and Hurricane Michael in Northwest Florida in 2018.


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Now that the deadline to register to vote in Arizona has passed, voting-rights advocates are switching their focus to voter education.

Today, the League of Women Voters of Arizona holds a voter empowerment event at Mesa Community College's Kirk Student Center in honor of National Voter Education Week. The group will distribute voting materials, details on this year's ballot initiatives and information on the "One Person, One Vote" campaign, which aims to abolish the Electoral College.

Pinny Sheoran, president of the League of Women Voters of Arizona, said voters, especially younger voters, are not only energized, but what she calls "absolutely alert" to what is at stake in this election.

"They have courage, they know it is their future, and we are here to make sure we give them the wind beneath their sails to help them move this forward," she said.

Sheoran encourages all Arizona voters to do their homework and research not only candidates but the ballot propositions, too. And while Election Day isn't until November 5, early voting has already begun in the Grand Canyon State.

While Arizonans will weigh in and determine who will be the next president of the United States, Sheoran said it is crucial they also educate themselves on the down-ballot races for county and city positions that'll have a direct impact on their day-to-day lives.

Sheoran contends everything is at stake in this election, and wants younger voters to know they have the power to determine the future of the country. Despite a certain level of disillusionment among voters, more than 50% of registered voters between ages 18 and 29 voted in the 2020 race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Sheoran is counting on that number to go up.

"If democracy dies in this election, then the work we do not only becomes harder, it may not become even possible, and that is a reality everybody needs to wake up to," she continued.

Sheoran added she doesn't want any voters, especially first-time voters, to experience unnecessary barriers in making their voices heard. A survey from Arizona State University finds two out of three Gen Z registered voters in Arizona say they plan to vote in this year's election.

It is the first day of early voting in Arizona and both presidential hopefuls will be making their cases to voters.

Gov. Tim Walz, DFL-Minn., the Democratic candidate for vice president, will attend events in the Phoenix area today, including a meeting with tribal leaders of the Gila River Indian Community before making his way to Tucson. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, DFL-Minn., the country's highest-ranking Native woman in executive office, said the Harris-Walz campaign knows the importance of Arizona's 11 electoral votes but also how decisive the Native vote can be.

"In 2020, we watched it come down to Arizona," Flanagan recounted. "I know how powerful the Native vote was in that election and I anticipate that the Native vote will turn up and turn out yet again."

Indigenous people account for about 6% of Arizona's population While Native voters have typically leaned Democratic, Republicans are also aiming to engage them.

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the GOP's vice presidential nominee, will hold a rally in Tucson today and early voters will begin casting their ballots in what's sizing up to be an extremely tight race.

Voters in precincts on the Navajo and Hopi reservations in northeastern Arizona cast about 60,000 ballots in 2020, compared to about 45,000 in 2016, according to The Associated Press. Flanagan called it "significant" and said she is encouraging all Arizonans to vote early.

"It's really powerful," Flanagan emphasized. "Turn up, you vote early and then, you can spend the rest of your time knocking on doors, calling people and having conversations with your friends and relatives about the power of their vote, especially in Arizona."

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to return to Arizona for the second time in two weeks, to speak at a campaign rally in Phoenix Thursday evening. Former President Donald Trump will also make his way back to the Grand Canyon State on Sunday for a rally in Prescott.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


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