The Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) is administered by the Office of the Attorney General and provides its participants with a confidential Post Office Box that serves as their legal mailing address.
Indiana law establishes the ACP for persons who are victims of domestic abuse, stalking, sexual assault, harassment, human trafficking, intimidation, or invasion of privacy. A person who applies to the Indiana Attorney General and qualifies under the ACP is given a special address provided by the Attorney General as his or her official address.
In order to apply for the ACP, a person must:
- Be a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, harassment, human trafficking, intimidation, or an invasion of privacy; and
- Apply for the Address Confidentiality Program through a victim advocate from a designated agency
Under Indiana law, ACP participants may request their voter registration information be marked as confidential and apply for an absentee ballot using a special form to protect their personal information. It is important to note the ACP does not directly communicate with county election offices. Each participant is responsible for communicating their enrollment to the county by providing the county voter registration official with a Notice to Government Entity of Address Confidentiality Program Participant.
Information on ACP, including applying to the program, is available here.
ACP & VOTER REGISTRATION
All individuals must register to vote at the address the person currently resides. However, an ACP participant may contact their county voter registration official (in most counties, the county clerk) to request that their voter registration record be flagged as confidential by providing the county voter registration official with a Notice to Government Entity of Address Confidentiality Program Participant. The voter must also place on the mailing address line of the voter registration application the PO Box provided in the notice. All voter registration and election correspondence will be sent to that PO Box and forwarded to the voter.
By doing so, the name, address, telephone number, and any other identifying information relating to a program participant, as contained in a voting registration record, is confidential for purposes of Indiana’s public records law.
The county voter registration office may not disclose for public inspection or copying a name, an address, a telephone number, or any other information as contained in a voting registration record except (1) to a law enforcement agency, upon written request, and (2) as directed by a court order. (IC 3-11-4-6; IC 5-26.5; IC 5-14-3-4(a)(1))
ACP & ABSENTEE VOTING
Indiana election law allows individuals who are flagged as ACP participants in the county’s voter registration records to apply for an absentee-by-mail ballot using the ABS-ATTORNEY GENERAL form. Issued by the Indiana Election Division, the form is available on the state’s web site and available at the county clerk’s office (or in some cases, a county election board office). The ABS-ATTORNEY GENERAL form is considered confidential and therefore, cannot be made available for public inspection.
An ACP participant is entitled to receive an absentee ballot in any election that is conducted during the year in which the applicant applied for an absentee ballot. For example, if an ACP applicant filed a ABS-ATTORNEY GENERAL form with the county on February 1, 2024, then the voter would receive an absentee-by-mail ballot in the spring 2024 primary election (if a political party or public question only box is selected on the form); the November 2024 general election; and if applicable, any special election held in 2024.
The deadline to submit and ABS-ATTORNEY GENERAL form to the voter’s county election board is 11:59 PM (Local Prevailing Time), 12-days before election day. The application may be submitted by fax, email, hand-delivery, or mail.
Please note: The ABS-ATTORNEY GENERAL form allows the participant to provide the mailing address designated by the Attorney General as the mailing address for receipt of the absentee ballot. If an individual is no longer enrolled in the program, then the person would use the ABS-Mail, ABS-Traveling Board, or ABS-In Person applications to vote absentee OR appear in-person at their voting location on Election Day.