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School board candidates forced to choose political labels on the ballot under House-approved bill

J.D. Prescott speaks into a microphone that he's holding with one hand while looking at a fellow lawmaker. Prescott is a White man with dark hair. He is wearing a gray suit, white shirt and purple tie.
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City) addresses a fellow legislator on the House floor during debate over SB 287, which he sponsored, on March 31, 2025.

School board candidates would be forced to choose a political label for the ballot under a bill narrowly approved by the House Monday.

School board candidates would have to choose Republican, Democrat, independent or nonpartisan to go next to their name on the ballot.

Rep. Kyle Miller (D-Fort Wayne), one of the 40 members who voted against SB 287, said it creates lazy candidates and lazy voters.

"Because now, instead of candidates having to go put forth their own policies, to do their own research, to tell the voters what they want to do on the school board, all we’re doing is saying 'Just put an R or a D behind your name and we’ll know what you stand for,'" Miller said.

But Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City), one of 54 members who voted for the bill, said it’s about transparency.

“Party affiliation — it’s really just the starting point, not the ending point,” Prescott said. “When you’re looking at Republican or Democrat on the ballot, you still have to go through and evaluate the candidate themselves for who they are.”

READ MORE: Senate legislation would force school board elections to become partisan

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Under the bill, straight ticket voting would not apply to school board races.

The measure, which changed significantly when it came over to the House earlier this session, now goes back to the Senate, which can send it to the governor or take it to conference committee for more work.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

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Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.