The Indiana Senate voted on March 16 to refer a constitutional amendment to the November 2024 ballot that would remove the superintendent of public instruction from the gubernatorial line of succession.

The superintendent of public instruction is sixth, and last, in Indiana’s gubernatorial line of succession, following the secretary of state, the state auditor, the state treasurer, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the president pro tem of the State Senate. 

Five states include the superintendent of schools in the gubernatorial line of succession: Arizona (fourth in line), North Carolina (sixth), Oklahoma (seventh), Washington (sixth), and Indiana.

In the 45 states with a lieutenant governor, that individual is the first in the line of succession. That includes West Virginia and Tennessee, where the state Senate presidents serve as lieutenant governor ex officio.

In Maine and New Hampshire, the president of the state Senate is first in line to succeed the governor. 

In Arizona, Oregon, and Wyoming, the secretary of state is first in line to succeed the governor.