What this office does
The sheriff is an elected county officer created by the Indiana Constitution who arrests offenders, keeps the peace, serves court papers, keeps order in county courts and runs the county jail [1, 2]. The Indiana Sheriffs' Association describes sheriffs as constitutional officers elected by the people, whose work includes operating jails, serving civil process, providing court security and coordinating emergency response [3]. Every county elects its sheriff in 2026 for a four-year term, and no one may serve as sheriff more than eight years in any twelve-year period [1].
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; the sheriff serves until a successor is elected and qualified [4, 1]
- Elected
- Countywide by the county's voters on the partisan general election ballot; all county sheriffs are elected in 2026 [1]
- Term limit
- No more than eight years in any period of twelve years (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; a sheriff who moves out of the county forfeits the office [1, 4]
- Pay
- A county may pay the sheriff a salary from the county general fund of at least 50% to 100% of the state minimum salary of a full-time prosecuting attorney, depending on county population [5]
- On the 2026 ballot
- 92 races; 26 contested [6]
What the law puts in this job (13)
- Arrests without a warrant people who commit an offense in the sheriff's view, brings them before a county court, and holds them while the arrest is investigated [2].
- Suppresses breaches of the peace and pursues and jails felons [2].
- Takes care of the county jail and the prisoners held there [2, 3].
- Serves and carries out legal papers (process) directed to the sheriff by courts and the county commissioners [2].
- Attends and keeps order in all courts of the county, which the Sheriffs' Association describes as providing court security [2, 3].
- Takes photographs, fingerprints and other identification data from people held for crimes, and DNA samples for felonies [2].
- Reports twice a year to the Indiana Department of Correction the average daily cost of holding a jail prisoner [2].
- Holds state prisoners, including people convicted of Level 6 felonies, in the county jail, for which the state reimburses counties at a daily rate set in the state budget [7].
- Coordinates emergency response and works with local police, prosecutors and community partners [3].
- In a county whose council creates a sheriff's merit board by ordinance, appoints three of its five members, while the county police officers elect the other two; no more than two sheriff appointees and one elected member may belong to the same party [8].
- Must report information to federal authorities when a person arrested for a felony or misdemeanor is believed to lack legal immigration status, and, since July 2026, notify the judge setting bail when holding a person subject to an immigration detainer [9, 10].
- May supervise and inspect businesses such as pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers [2].
- What the sheriff does not control: the county commissioners must establish and maintain the county jail building [11]; the county makes the appropriation for feeding prisoners and sets the sheriff's salary [5]; the prosecuting attorney decides which crimes to prosecute [12]; and judges decide bail [13].
Fulton 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.
Budgeted separately, not included above: jail/detention center (depts 0380, 0381), $3.3 million.
- Counties budget the jail differently: some put jail costs in the sheriff's department, others in a separate jail department. Compare the sheriff and jail together across counties.
Also on the record for this office
- rated capacity: 87.0
- latest jail count: 72
- count date: 2024 (Vera v3.1)
- IDOC holds: 3
- IDOC holds date: 2026-08-01
- federal (USMS/ICE) housing: y
- jail operating budget 2026: 3824041.0
- sheriff dept actual 2025: 1893761.0
- jail actual 2025: 207409.0
- jail project: [Vera jail-construction file, unverified] 2021 New Jail (Passed, $5.7M, beds 65->230)
- dispatch/records systems: Spillman upgrade (Mar. 3, 2025); Flex CAD delivery and ProQA software $6,032 (Mar. 17, 2025); 911 AI training tool from Priority Dispatch, $4,500 first year then $6,000/yr (Aug.…)
Measured, for this county
A position compares this county with counties of similar size. It is not a grade: for most measures a higher or lower number is neither good nor bad on its own.
Average daily jail population · 2024
72
People held on an average day.
How much this is the officeholder's to decide: partial: jail population depends on arrests, charging, bail and sentencing decisions by police, prosecutors and judges; the sheriff manages housing and transfers
Position 8 of 30 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)
source · source
Share of people in jail awaiting trial · 2019
71.0%
People held before trial as a share of the jail population.
How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low to partial for the sheriff: pretrial detention is decided by courts (bail) and prosecutors (charging); the county funds pretrial services
Position 17 of 29 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)
source · source
About this race
- The current officeholder, Travis Heishman (Republican), is on the ballot for another term [16, 6].
- Only one candidate is on the ballot for this office [6].
Candidates on the ballot
TH
Travis Heishman
RepublicanIncumbent
Travis Heishman (Republican) is the current officeholder, according to the county [16].
Heishman's background
- Listed by the county as the current officeholder [16].
How Heishman got on the ballot
- Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 1,229 votes [17].
What we could not find about Heishman
- No campaign website, candidate questionnaire or interview stating plans for the office was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.
Key points
- The current officeholder, Travis Heishman (Republican), is on the ballot for another term. (Fulton County, Indiana)
Sources
Researched Tuesday, October 13, 2026
- 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices: County Sheriff) (Indiana Election Division)
- Indiana Code 36-2-13-5: Duties of sheriff (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
- 2026 ISA President Statement (Jeffrey A. Balon, Porter County Sheriff) (Indiana Sheriffs' Association)
- Indiana Code 36-2-13-2: Sheriff residency and term (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
- Indiana Code 36-2-13-2.8: Sheriff's salary (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
- 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
- Indiana Department of Correction readies to pay $12 million in jail back payments (Indiana Capital Chronicle (via Inside INdiana Business))
- Indiana Code 36-8-10-3: Sheriff's merit board (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
- Braun signs bill into law requiring jails to tell ICE about potential immigration violations (Network Indiana (via WMNC 95.3))
- Illegally in Indiana: New state law aims at cracking down on illegal immigration (WNDU)
- Indiana Code 36-2-2-24: County courthouse, jail and offices (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
- Indiana Code 33-39-1-5: Duties of prosecuting attorneys (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
- Amendment to deny bail to some offenders moves closer to November ballot (WFYI (via Indiana Public Media))
- Sheriff (Fulton County, Indiana)
- 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.