2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Hancock County Sheriff

Voted on across Hancock County. Open seat: Brad Burkhart is not on the ballot.

Find your exact ballot All Hancock County races

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].

Hancock 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

$5,936,488

6.1% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 66% more than 2019, before inflation

2019 $3,585,9322026 $5,936,488

The year-by-year figures

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

2019: $3,585,932
2020: $3,638,162
2021: $3,638,206
2022: $4,223,883
2023: $4,910,083
2024: $4,854,740
2025: $5,624,087
2026: $5,936,488

Budget lines counted: 0005 COUNTY SHERIFF; fund 9564 Sheriff Hosting Agency Fund; fund 9571 Sheriff Equitable Share; fund 9581 Sheriff's Miscellaneous Donation Fund

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

Budgeted separately, not included above: jail/detention center (depts 0380, 0381), $2.6 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.
Includes $70,000 in funds named for the office (for example a commissary or perpetuation fund) that are not coded to its department.

Also on the record for this office

rated capacity: 157.0
latest jail count: 248
count date: 2024 (Vera v3.1)
IDOC holds: 4
IDOC holds date: 2026-08-01
federal (USMS/ICE) housing: not found
jail operating budget 2026: 2642904.0
sheriff dept actual 2025: 5453134.0
jail actual 2025: 2214720.0
jail project: New jail (east of Greenfield) in operation; jail recovery/navigation program ($322,976 projected 2027)

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

248

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 12 of 17 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Share of people in jail awaiting trial · 2019

51.0%

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 13 of 16 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Reported crimes per 1,000 residents · 2025

7.1

Offenses reported by police agencies county-wide (agencies with full-year reporting), not only the sheriff's office.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low to partial: the sheriff patrols mainly unincorporated areas; city and town police cover most residents in larger counties

Position 14 of 16 counties with 50,000 to 150,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

About this race

Hancock County's county seat is Greenfield; the new county jail sits on county-owned land east of Greenfield ^{[19, 20]}.
Open seat: Sheriff Brad Burkhart is not a candidate ^[17].
Gary W. Achor, Jr. filed as a Republican on Jan. 7, 2026, and James Calvert, Jr. filed as a Democrat on Feb. 6, 2026 ^[17].
May 5, 2026 primary (county summary report marked unofficial): Achor won the Republican nomination with 6,047 votes (75.97%) to 1,345 (16.90%) for John J. Jester and 568 (7.14%) for David Carver; Calvert was unopposed in the Democratic primary with 2,816 votes ^[21].
Local coverage (Greenfield Daily Reporter) of a March 2026 Republican candidate forum, the primary and the general-election campaign could not be reviewed for this profile.

Candidates on the ballot

Gary W. Achor, Jr.

Republican

Republican nominee for Hancock County sheriff ^{[17, 21]}. Detailed background and positions could not be confirmed from freely available sources.

How Achor got on the ballot

Filed Jan. 7, 2026 ^[17].
Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with 6,047 votes (75.97%) to 1,345 for John J. Jester and 568 for David Carver (county report marked unofficial) ^[21].

What we could not find about Achor

His law-enforcement background and current position could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
His campaign Facebook page (facebook.com/GaryAchorSheriff) requires a login and could not be reviewed for this profile.
Positions on the jail, staffing, budget, drugs, school safety and immigration are not documented here; local coverage (Greenfield Daily Reporter) of the candidate forum and campaign could not be reviewed for this profile.
No background detail was found in freely available sources; see gaps.
No plans were found in freely available sources.
No statements about Sheriff Burkhart's record were found in freely available sources.
No endorsements or campaign-finance totals were found in sources reviewed.

Sources for Achor

Candidate List – Abbreviated, 2026 General Election (Hancock County, Indiana)

James Calvert, Jr.

Democratic

Democratic nominee for Hancock County sheriff ^{[17, 21]}. Detailed background and positions could not be confirmed from freely available sources.

How Calvert got on the ballot

Filed Feb. 6, 2026 ^[17].
Unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary with 2,816 votes (county report marked unofficial) ^[21].

What we could not find about Calvert

His law-enforcement background and current occupation could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
No campaign website or social-media page was found.
Positions on the jail, staffing, budget, drugs, school safety and immigration are not documented here; local coverage (Greenfield Daily Reporter) of the campaign could not be reviewed for this profile.
No background detail was found in freely available sources; see gaps.
No plans were found in freely available sources.
No statements about Sheriff Burkhart's record were found in freely available sources.
No endorsements or campaign-finance totals were found in sources reviewed.

Sources for Calvert

Candidate List – Abbreviated, 2026 General Election (Hancock County, Indiana)

Key points

Hancock County's county seat is Greenfield; the new county jail sits on county-owned land east of Greenfield. (WRTV)
The jail program was ARPA-funded; $322,976 is projected for 2027. FSG also found Jail LIT and PSAP fund shortfalls, which the council addressed with a same-total LIT reallocation (Ord. 2025-10F, Oct 21, 2025, 7-0). (hancockin.gov)

Sources

Researched Sunday, October 11, 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))
Candidate List – Abbreviated, 2026 General Election (Hancock County, Indiana)
Hancock County residents face tax hike to fund new jail (WRTV)
Hancock County Jail (project portfolio) (DCCM)
Summary Results Report, Primary Election May 5, 2026 (unofficial) (Hancock County Election Office)

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.