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Judges will be able to deny bail to a broader range of people deemed safety risks after Indiana voters answered “yes” to Public Question 1 on their Election Day ballots.
Voters were asked whether they approved an amendment to the state constitution that would give judges more discretion when considering a defendant’s eligibility for bail. Currently, anyone not incarcerated for murder or treason has a right to bail.
Roughly 58.5% of Hoosiers voted “yes,” and 41.5% voted “no” with more than 85% of votes counted late Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press.
“I think the voters recognized that it’s good public policy first and foremost,” said one of the amendment’s authors, state Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford. “We were among the minority of states that didn’t have this option for trial court judges. So we aligned with the majority of the states and the federal system.”
Under the proposed constitutional amendment, judges would be able to deny bail outside that narrow range if the state can prove clearly that “no release conditions will reasonably protect the safety of any other person or the community,” according to ballots presented to voters Tuesday.
Supporters believe the amendment is an important step toward preventing repeat offenders from continuing to offend while on bail. Critics worry it jeopardizes defendants’ due process rights.
“The goal is to have the right people in custody for the right reason for the right amount of time,” Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker said told the Indiana Capital Chronicle last month. “It is not just checking boxes and putting a rubber stamp on things in order to forward different agendas.”
The Capital Chronicle cited a report from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute that showed 7% of defendants released on bail in 2025 were rearrested and charged with a new offense.
Becker noted prosecutors were concerned with recent bail reforms, believing public safety was not a top priority.
Mike Cunningham, a criminal defense attorney in Franklin, opposes the amendment. He told the Capital Chronicle that he worries that judges will accept weak evidence to deny bail or the Indiana General Assembly will rewrite the standards spelled out in the amendment.
Defendants would be allowed to appeal the court’s decision to deny bail.
To become an amendment on the ballot, the measure had to pass out of two separately elected legislatures, a task that was accomplished earlier this year. That had to be done before voters could consider ratification.
A majority of voters then had to accept the change for the amendment to be ratified.
A total of 24 states have amended the constitutional right to bail, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most of those amendments add specific circumstances or offenses for which people can be held without bail.
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