2023 - Winner for Improving Accessibility for Voters with Disabilities

Before July 2023, all Indiana Counties were required to post paper sample ballots at every voting location. In Vote Center Counties, this could mean thousands of pages of sample ballots. Knox County received permission from the Indiana Election Division to test the use of electronic sample ballots for the November 2022 General Election. By using electronic sample ballots, voters had every ballot at their fingertips in an accessible format to review prior to voting. Images and content in the electronic sample ballots could be enlarged to assist voters with vision impairment. The feedback from the 2022 general election was extremely positive. A legislative proposal was created for the 2023 General Session, which was approved, making it the only Clerk-related bill to pass in that session. The bill also permitted, for the first time, the use of repurposed e-poll books for this program. This has decreased e-waste, printing costs, and paper consumption throughout Indiana. The state law that allowed the use of electronic sample ballots can be found under Indiana Code 3-11-3-25.