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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Bartholomew County Recorder

Voted on across Bartholomew County.

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What this office does

The county recorder is an elected county officer created by the Indiana Constitution. The recorder records and indexes deeds, mortgages, plats and other documents affecting land in the county and collects the fees for recording them [1, 2].

The job in full — the duties the Indiana Code puts in it, the term, what it pays and who sets that, and what to ask a candidate.

Term
4 years [1]
Term limit
No more than eight years in any twelve-year period (Indiana Constitution, Article 6, Section 2) [1]
Qualifications
Must have lived in the county for at least one year before the election, be registered to vote in the county by the filing deadline, and file a statement of economic interests [3]
Pay and staff
Set by the county council, which also fixes the number of deputies and employees; the officer files a budget estimate each summer [4, 5]
On the 2026 ballot
54 counties; 14 contested (more candidates, including write-ins, than seats) [6]
What the law puts in this job (3)
  • Records deeds, mortgages, plats and other documents presented for recording, and keeps indexes so they can be found [2].
  • Collects recording fees set by state law [7].
  • Must complete 15 hours of training in the first year in office and 40 hours over each three years, and certify it to the State Board of Accounts [8].

Bartholomew County's numbers for this office

Legal Insights county office research (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Gateway budgets 2019-2026 and the indicator sources linked on each line.

This office's 2026 budget

$484,294

0.7% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 195% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $163,9032020: $305,9052021: $320,1132022: $324,4432023: $370,1832024: $433,7712025: $473,5132026: $484,294
2019 $163,9032026 $484,294
The year-by-year figures

Adopted budget, all funds, 2019-2026 (not adjusted for inflation)

  • 2019: $163,903
  • 2020: $305,905
  • 2021: $320,113
  • 2022: $324,443
  • 2023: $370,183
  • 2024: $433,771
  • 2025: $473,513
  • 2026: $484,294

Budget lines counted: 0004 COUNTY RECORDER; fund 9531 Recorder's Perpetutation

Adopted 2026 county budget (Form 1 line items, Form 4B) and earlier years' budgets

  • Includes $241,923 in funds named for the office (for example a commissary or perpetuation fund) that are not coded to its department.

About this race

  • The county's recorder page lists Tami Hines as recorder. She is not on the 2026 ballot, so the seat is open [10, 6].
  • Both nominees were unopposed in their May 2026 primaries [11]. No forum or debate was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Candidates on the ballot

Nancy Merbitz

Democratic

Nancy Merbitz is the Democratic nominee; she was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary [11].

How Merbitz got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary unopposed, with 2,270 votes [11].

What we could not find about Merbitz

  • No campaign website, candidate questionnaire, news interview or biography was found as of Oct. 13, 2026.
  • No stated priorities for the office were found.
  • Local coverage in The Republic (Columbus) is paywalled and was not used.

Sources for Merbitz

Debra K. Beck Settle

Republican

Debra Beck Settle, the Republican nominee, is chief deputy in the Bartholomew County recorder's office, according to the office's staff list [10].

Settle's background

  • The recorder's office lists "Chief Deputy: Debra Settle" among its staff [10].

How Settle got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 5,593 votes [11].

What we could not find about Settle

  • No campaign website or questionnaire stating her plans for the office was found as of Oct. 13, 2026.
  • Local coverage in The Republic (Columbus) is paywalled and was not used.

Sources for Settle

Key points

  • The county's recorder page lists Tami Hines as recorder. She is not on the 2026 ballot, so the seat is open. (Bartholomew County, Indiana)
  • Both nominees were unopposed in their May 2026 primaries. No forum or debate was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026. (Indiana Election Division)

Sources

Researched Tuesday, October 13, 2026

  1. Constitution of the State of Indiana, Article 6, Section 2 (quoted in the 2026 Candidate Guide) (Indiana Election Division)
  2. Indiana Code 36-2-11-8: Recorder; recording duties (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  3. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices) (Indiana Election Division)
  4. Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: County fiscal body; compensation and positions (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  5. Indiana Code 36-2-5-5: Officers' budget estimates (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  6. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  7. Indiana Code 36-2-7-10: Recorder's fees (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  8. Indiana Code 36-2-11-2.5: Recorder; training requirements (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  9. Recorder (Bartholomew County, Indiana)
  10. 2026 Primary Election results (certified), Indiana Election Night Reporting (Indiana Election Division)
What's included
the U.S. House, statewide offices, every Indiana House and Senate district on the ballot, Indiana's statewide public questions and judicial retention questions, and county, township, city, town and school board races from the Indiana Election Division's candidate list.
Everything else
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: IndianaVoters.in.gov.
Candidate lists
As of Sunday, October 18, 2026.
At the polls
Indiana law lets you bring a list of candidates and public questions into the polling place, including one stored on your phone, as long as you don't electioneer. IC 3-11-8-18.5

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.