§ 7-7-305 - Printing of ballots -- Form.
7-7-305. Printing of ballots -- Form.
(a) The ballots of the primary election shall be provided by the county board of election commissioners. The form of the ballots shall be the same as is provided by law for ballots in general or special elections in this state. A different color ballot may be used to distinguish between political parties.
(b) The order in which the names of the respective candidates are to appear on the ballots at all preferential and general primary elections shall be determined by lot at the public meeting of the county board of election commissioners held not later than sixty-five (65) days before the preferential primary election. The county board shall give at least ten (10) days' written notice of the time and place of the meeting to the chairs of the county committees, if the chairs are not members of the board, and shall, at least three (3) days before the meeting, publish notice of the time and place of holding the meeting in some newspaper of general circulation in the county.
(c) (1) (A) Any person who shall file for any elective office in this state may use not more than three (3) given names, one (1) of which may be a nickname or any other word used for the purpose of identifying the person to the voters, and may add as a prefix to his or her name the title or an abbreviation of an elective public office the person currently holds.
(B) A person may only use as the prefix the title of a judicial office in an election for a judgeship if the person is currently serving in a judicial position to which the person has been elected.
(C) A nickname shall not include a professional or honorary title.
(2) The names and titles as proposed to be used by each candidate on the political practice pledge or, if the political practice pledge is not filed by the filing deadline, then the names and titles that appear on the party certificate shall be reviewed no later than one (1) business day after the filing deadline by the Secretary of State for state and district offices and by the county board of election commissioners for county, township, school, and municipal offices.
(3) (A) The name of every candidate shall be printed on the ballot in the form as certified by either the Secretary of State or the county board.
(B) However, the county board of election commissioners may substitute an abbreviated title if the ballot lacks space for the title requested by a candidate.
(C) The county board of election commissioners shall immediately notify a candidate whose requested title is abbreviated by the county board of election commissioners.
(4) A candidate shall not be permitted to change the form in which his or her name will be printed on the ballot after the deadline for filing the political practices pledge.