Unlike proposed constitutional amendments sent to Hoosiers in the past, a new succession amendment has not garnered any attention, let alone controversy. Photo from Adobe Stock.

By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen

INDIANA — Hoosiers going to the polls in November will find a question on their ballots, asking if they want to amend the Indiana Constitution to revise the list of elected state officials who could succeed the governor.

The proposed amendment revises Article 5, Section 10, which outlines the process for succession if the sitting governor resigns, dies or becomes incapacitated. Namely, the lieutenant governor would be elevated to governor, but if the second-in-command also cannot fulfill the duties of the top office, then the Indiana General Assembly would have to convene within 48 hours to elect a governor from the same political party as the immediate past governor.

In the interim between the governor and lieutenant governor’s offices becoming vacant and the legislature installing a new governor, the constitution provides a list of elected officials who would discharge the powers and duties of the governor. Sixth on that list is the state superintendent of public instruction, but since that position was switched from elected to appointed in 2021, Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, thought the state’s top education official should no longer be in line to assume the governor’s office.

“The question on the ballot is really clean-up language from when the state superintendent of public instruction was changed to the secretary of education,” Prescott said. “Since we no longer have that state superintendent of public instruction, we’re striking that language to allow parity with the other elected positions that are in that line of succession, so we do not have a path in place for an appointed position to be acting governor.”

Unlike the proposed constitutional amendments the General Assembly sent to Hoosiers in the past, capping property taxes, prohibiting same-sex marriage, and protecting the right to hunt and fish, the succession amendment has not garnered any attention, let alone controversy. The amendment passed through the required two separate sessions of the legislature as a House Joint Resolution with no debate, no attempts to change the language and with only seven votes cast against it during the 2022 session.

Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, said the amendment was noncontroversial, noting in her 40 years of public advocacy, she had never heard anyone concerned about the succession for state governor. Still, she said, making this update to the constitution is important even though the superintendent is at the bottom of the succession list and likely would never get tapped to serve as governor.

“It probably does make sense to remove that position from the succession plan,” Vaughn said. “But, I think Hoosiers would rather be asked constitutional questions that are a little bit more impactful to their everyday lives. It would be nice if we had the opportunity to weigh in directly, as voters, on issues like gerrymandering and abortion.”

Wanting To Clean Up An Oversight

Indiana did not have a governor who was elected to the office and served a complete term until Noah Noble, the fifth person to serve as the state leader, according to the Capitol & Washington blog. The four proceeding governors, including Indiana’s first governor, Jonathan Jennings, either left office before their terms were over or assumed the office under legal succession. Noble was elected governor in December 1831 and remained in the office until December 1837, when his term ended.

Most recently, Indiana’s constitutional succession process was enacted when Gov. Frank O’Bannon died in September 2003, during his second term in office. Then-Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan became governor and served until Mitch Daniels was elected and sworn into office in January 2005.

Under the Indiana Constitution, the line of succession for Indiana governor begins with the lieutenant governor. If both the governor and lieutenant governor positions are vacant, then the constitution offers an ordered list of elected officials who would be tapped to serve as governor.

The speaker of the Indiana House is at the top of the list, but if that office is vacant or if that individual is unable to perform the gubernatorial duties, the president pro tempore of the Indiana Senate would step in. If the Senate president’s seat is vacant, then the state treasurer would take over, followed by the state auditor and then the secretary of state.

At the bottom of the list is the state superintendent of public instruction who would assume the duties of governor only if the five previous elected officials could not do so.

The superintendent was an elected position until the legislature passed the law abolishing the office in 2017 and created the Indiana secretary of education position. As part of that change, lawmakers made the secretary a position appointed by the governor.

Katie Jenner was appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb as Indiana’s first secretary of education in 2022.

Prescott said he discovered the language in the line of succession needed updating when he was reading through the Indiana Constitution. Every year, he sets aside time to read both the U.S. Constitution and the Indiana Constitution prior to Organization Day, the ceremonial start to the upcoming legislative session.

“We take an oath to uphold both the United States Constitution and the state of Indiana’s constitution every year on Organization Day,” Prescott said, noting he also encourages other legislators to read the constitutions. “Every word in our constitution, every word in statute, they’re all there for a reason, so you have to pay attention to all those details.”

Once he found what he considered to be a problem, Prescott said he sought input from House leaders to make them aware of the wording and to see if they had any thoughts or concerns about amending the provision. Leadership acknowledged, he said, that the succession language should be cleaned up.

Also, Prescott said, he did notify the Indiana secretary of education, before he introduced the resolution calling for the amendment. No one in the executive branch had any concerns, he said.

“Everyone that I talked to said, ‘Yeah, it makes sense to strike that from the constitution, because (the superintendent’s) position is no longer there,”’ Prescott said. “It was kind of an oversight that we need to make sure we clean it up.”

Hoosiers Need To Know Before They Vote

Although the amendment has not attracted much attention in the two years it rolled through the Statehouse, Prescott is confident that Hoosiers will learn about the proposed change to the state’s constitution as Election Day get closer and more media outlets report on ballot issues. He said the key is educating voters about the rationale for the amendment, but he does not see a need for a “full out campaign” to raise public awareness.

Vaughn agreed that only state officials elected by the voters should be in line to succeed the governor. However, because this amendment “really has been flying under the radar screen,” she said Hoosiers have to be informed and given time to think about the revision to the line of succession before they go to the polls. Already, she noted, Indiana has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country and often voters say they do not participate in elections because they do not know enough about what is on the ballot to make an informed decision.

“I don’t think we need to give Hoosiers yet another excuse to say, ‘Well, I don’t know enough. I’m just going to sit this one out,'” Vaughn said. “From the top of the ballot to the bottom, things like these constitutional questions, it’s all important. We do a disservice to Hoosiers by not making them fully aware of each and every choice they’re going to be asked to make on Election Day.”