Constitutional Amendment Restricting Access to Bail (SEJR 1)

In Indiana, only the legislature can place constitutional amendments on the ballot for voters to decide, and it is a rare, multiyear process. A proposed amendment must pass the General Assembly in one legislative session and then pass again, with identical language, in the next session after a general election. Once that happens, it is placed on the ballot at the next general election, where voters can approve or reject it by a simple majority. That process has now been completed for SEJR 1, and the amendment will appear on the November 2026 ballot.

If approved by voters, the amendment would change Indiana’s Constitution to allow bail to be denied not only in murder or treason cases, but also when the state shows that the accused poses “a substantial risk to any other person or the community” and that no release conditions would reasonably protect public safety.

We oppose this amendment because its vague and expansive language could keep more people who have not been convicted of a crime locked in Indiana’s already overcrowded jails. Rather than expanding pretrial detention and deepening mass incarceration, lawmakers should be focused on reforming Indiana’s broken cash bail system.