Hoosier voters will have a constitutional amendment on their ballots this fall.
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Indiana voters will have the rare option to amend the state’s constitution this fall.
A constitutional amendment question appears on ballots for the Nov. 5 general election, asking voters to approve a chance to the line of succession for governor. On the ballots as Public Question No. 1, the question reads as follows:
“Shall the Constitution of the State of Indiana be amended to remove the state superintendent of public instruction from the list of officeholders who shall discharge the powers and duties of the governor if the office of the governor and lieutenant governor are both vacant?”
The Indiana Constitution establishes a line of succession that would come into play if both the offices of governor and lieutenant governor became vacant. Currently, the list is, in order: speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, the Senate president pro tem, state treasurer, state auditor, secretary of state and state superintendent of public instruction.
However, the office of state superintendent of public instruction no longer exists as an elected position. State lawmakers in 2021 made the position a gubernatorial appointment rather than an elected office and renamed the job title secretary of education.
State lawmakers first voted to make the state superintendent of public instruction position an appointed secretary of education position in 2017, moving up the state date in 2019 when then Republican State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick declined to seek another term.
With the office no longer elected and already renamed, the proposed constitutional amendment essentially removes outdated language from the constitution.
Amending the state constitution requires passage of the amendment by two separate and consecutive Indiana General Assemblies, meaning those two votes have to take place with a statewide election between them. Once this occurs, the amendment goes before Hoosier voters for its final approval and ratification.
Indiana does not allow citizen-initiated constitutional amendments, meaning this is a rare chance for Hoosiers to vote on a ballot measure.
This amendment passed for the first time in 2022, before passing for a second time in 2023. No lawmakers voted against it in 2023.
Early voting continues until 12 p.m. Nov. 4.
Election Day is Nov. 5.
