Tupac Shakur, Pearl Jam and Kraftwerk are among the 19 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rapper Tupac Shakur, singer Janet Jackson, grunge-rock band Pearl Jam, pioneering German electronic-rock group Kraftwerk and alternative-rock outfit Jane’s Addiction top an expanded slate of 19 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Among first-time candidates that appear on the ballot are British rock group Depeche Mode, American punk band Bad Brains, English pop-rock band Electric Light Orchestra, folk-music maven Joan Baez, slick rock band Journey and ‘60s heavy rock group Steppenwolf.

Previous nominees under consideration include the Cars, Chaka Khan, Jackson, the J. Geils Band, Joe Tex, Detroit proto-punk group MC5, English rock group the Zombies, disco pioneers Chic and English prog-rock band Yes.

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Shakur and Pearl Jam are first-time nominees who made the nomination ballot on their initial year of eligibility, having released their debut recordings in 1991. The Rock Hall requires that 25 years pass before an act will be considered for induction.

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The death of rapper-actor Tupac Shakur, shown in 1995, is still considered a mystery and a tragic milestone in music.   (Perry C. Riddle / Los Angeles Times)

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Tupac Shakur, August 1993, photo by Danny Clinch (American, born 1964) Courtesy of Danny Clinch  (Danny Clinch / Annenberg Space for Photography)

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Tupac Shakur in 1994.  (Ron Galella / WireImage)

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Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur at the 1996 MTV Music Awards.

  (Manny Hernandez / Getty Images)

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Tupac Shakur arrives at New York’s Radio City Music Hall for the 13th MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 4, 1996, just days before his death.  (Todd Plitt / Associated Press)

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Rapper Tupac Shakur, left, and Death Row Records’ Marion “Suge” Knight attend a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles in August 1996.  (Frank Wiese / Associated Press)

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Club 662, a nightclub located in Las Vegas, is reportedly where Tupac Shakur and Death Row Records Chairman Marion “Suge” Knight were heading when Shakur was shot Sept. 7, 1996.  (Lennox McLendon / Associated Press)

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Snoop Dogg performs with a projection of Tupac near the end of his set with Dr. Dre, closing the third and final day of Week 2 of the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Typically, 10 to 12 names appear on the ballot sent to the Hall of Fame’s 700-plus voting members, but this year that figure has almost doubled.

“Voting in the past has been so close, the nominating committee wanted to be more inclusive and have more choices for fans and the voting body,” according to a statement issued by the hall.

Despite the increased number of nominees, Rock Hall officials said the number of inductees will not increase, remaining with the usual total of about five.

Rank-and-file music fans are allowed to cast votes at the Rock Hall’s website, but they have only token impact on the determination of inductees. The top five vote-getters in the public poll will form one ballot, according to the organization’s rules.

But the fan vote does let those voters know who they want to see — and don’t want to see — inducted into the hall. In theory, it can also influence how those voting members cast their ballots.

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Tupac Shakur.

  (Sharon M. Beard / Associated Press)

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Janet Jackson.

  (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

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Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.

  (Greg Allen/Invision/Associated Press)

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Dave Navarro, left, and Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction.

  (Kiko Huesca / EPA)

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Andrew Fletcher, left, Dave Gahan and Martin Gore of Depeche Mode.

  (Antonio Calanni / Associated Press)

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J. Geils Band.

  (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

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Kraftwerk.

  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Chaka Khan.

  (Adam Bettcher / Getty Images)

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The Cars, in 1978.

  (Tony Barnard / Los Angeles Times)

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Joan Baez.

  (I. Lopez / Associated Press)

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Electric Light Orchestra.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Last year three acts that were tops among fans — Chicago, Deep Purple and Steve Miller — were elected. Rap group N.W.A also was inducted despite receiving among the lowest vote counts from fans — less than 1% of votes cast.

Conversely, Yes and the Cars also were popular with fans but did not make the final cut for induction.

Voting at rockhall.com will begin Oct. 18 and continue through Dec. 5.

Results will be announced in December at a date still to be determined. Winners will be decided upon by Hall of Fame’s voting members, and inductions will take place April 2017 in New York City.

randy.lewis@latimes.com

Follow @RandyLewis2 on Twitter.com

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UPDATES:

8:45 a.m.: This article was updated to include Chic among the list of nominees.

This article was originally published at 5 a.m.