Sample ballots shall be available at least fifteen days prior to an election. A printed copy must be made available through the office of the county auditor. A sample ballot may be published on the county auditor's website. Sample paper ballots shall be printed in substantially the same form as official ballots. Sample ballots shall be printed in a manner that makes them easily distinguishable from the official ballot.

At any primary or election when a local voters' pamphlet is published which contains a full sample ballot, a separate sample ballot need not be produced.

Counties with populations of over five hundred thousand may produce more than one sample ballot for a primary or election, each of which lists a portion of the offices and issues to be voted on at that election. Sample ballots may be printed by region or area (e.g., legislative district, municipal, or other district boundary) of the county, provided that all offices and issues to be voted upon at the election appear on at least one of the various sample ballots. Each regional sample ballot shall contain all offices and issues to be voted upon within that region. A given office or issue may appear on more than one sample ballot, provided it is to be voted upon within that region. Sample ballots shall be made available and distributed to each voting center.