Candidates are closely split on identifying themselves politically or opting not to in Indiana’s first ever truly partisan school board races, new data from Central Indiana elections officials shows.
The filing deadline for Hoosiers to run in the new era of school board elections has passed, as of noon on June 18. The data from Marion and Hamilton counties shows that many candidates are choosing not to identify with a political party in the elections, even though it may put them at a disadvantage.
There’s an even split between candidates identifying as a Republican and candidates opting to run with no party affiliation at all in the Hamilton County races. Three candidates have filed to run as Democrats, one as a Libertarian and two as Independent in the Hamilton County races, with 18 seats up for election.
In Marion County, most school board candidates are almost exactly evenly split between running as Democrats and running with no party affiliation for the county’s 31 school board seats that will be up for election on Nov. 3. There are also some Republicans and a few Independent candidates running in Marion County.
The switch to partisan school board elections is due to legislation that was passed by conservative lawmakers, who have said the change will provide voters with more information about candidates. Critics of the new laws have said they could further politicize school boards and have warned the changes could block quality candidates from running who may not want to put a political marker next to their names.
Laura Merrifield Wilson, a professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis, said it’s not a surprise that more candidates in Hamilton County are opting to run as Republicans and more candidates in Marion County are opting to run as Democrats, given the political makeup of each county.
“It seems these candidates are playing to their base of voters,” Wilson said. “School board races are notoriously low information elections where people know very, very little about the candidates. If voters know nothing else, but they see a party label beside a candidate name that will likely now help them decide who to vote for in these races.”
Joe Forgey, an incumbent who is running against three opponents for two at-large seats on the Noblesville School Board, struggled to decide which direction to go as far as party label.
“I think I ought to select independent, and I wish everybody running would do that,” Forgey, the secretary of the Noblesville Schools Board, told IndyStar before the filing period opened. “But here’s what you face. There’s an advantage to picking a party when it comes to ballot placement.”
Forgey, and his three opponents in the Noblesville School Board election, all opted to run as Republicans in the race.
Jack Russell, a candidate for the Hamilton Heights School Board at-large seat, filed to run for his seat with no party affiliation. It appears Russell, who is the president and CEO of OneZone Chamber in Hamilton County, will be elected to the school board as he’s not facing an opponent in his race.
“I chose to run without a party because I want the voters to evaluate me based on qualifications,” Russell told IndyStar a few hours before the filing deadline. “I wanted them to hear my experience, hear my vision and I didn’t feel like I needed to have a party to be able to talk to voters about those things.”
The switch to partisan elections is taking effect as school board meetings have been entrenched in national politics. Board members across the country have received death threats, fielded angry parents while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and have been inundated with book-banning discussions and scrutiny of curriculum. In Hamilton County, party politics and political action committees have already been part of the story in recent school board elections.
What’s changing for voters?
The new laws did not create primary elections for school board candidates — which is why these races were not featured in the May election. This means multiple candidates from one party can run for the same school board seat in the general election, according to the Indiana School Boards Association.
Party affiliations or Independent candidacy statuses will appear on ballots next to candidate names. Candidates can choose not to disclose any party affiliation. If they go that route, the ballot will show only the candidate’s name, followed by a blank space where party information would normally appear.
Wilson previously told IndyStar the switch to partisan elections may cause some candidates not to run, while other candidates will happily declare which party they are affiliated with.
“For voters, this will provide a helpful cognitive shortcut because it’s an easy, quick label that voters can use to make a decision,” Wilson said. “But it’s tricky because school boards aren’t necessarily making partisan decisions. I’m thinking of curriculum, hiring and firing, how they approach policy matters, those are not partisan issues.”
School board races are still excluded from straight-party voting, which means voters must individually select school board candidates, according to the Indiana School Boards Association.
Candidates will be listed on the ballot in a way that’s likely to advantage Republicans in most of the state. That’s because candidates will be grouped by political parties and listed according to the performance of political parties in the most recent election for secretary of state in each county.
Candidates representing the party receiving the highest number of votes for secretary of state are listed first, according to the Indiana School Boards Association.
Candidates representing other political parties will be listed next in the order their party’s candidate for secretary of state finished in the last election. Candidates representing parties that did not have a secretary of state candidate, as well as independent candidates, will be listed next.
Candidates who elect not to disclose any political party affiliation will appear on ballots last. This means Republican school board candidates will appear first on ballots in 87 of Indiana’s 92 counties due to the results of the 2022 secretary of state election.
Being higher up on the ballot can be an advantage, especially in elections where voters have limited information on the candidates, Wilson previously told IndyStar.
“It absolutely benefits the Republican Party,” she said. “Remember this legislation was introduced and passed by a Republican supermajority in state legislature.”
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Jake_Allen19. Click here to get Hamilton County news sent straight to your inbox and subscribe to the IndyStar North newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: In first ever partisan school board races, candidates are regularly choosing ‘no party’
Reporting by Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
